Pipe Dream
by Elle D'Elajoie
Summary: AU during "Never Been Kissed". Kurt's first brief meeting with Sebastian at the Lima Bean when the new Warbler is having coffee with Blaine leaves Kurt questioning a lot of things. How will Sebastian's statement that his desire to attend NYADA is 'pipe dream' affect Kurt's life? - - - 33 chapters plus epilogue. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

"It's just a pipe dream and you know it. The supposed 'love of your life' took Tony from you. How will you get into NYADA now?" Sebastian asked him. "What kind of 'teenage dream' ruins his boyfriend's chances of getting into his 'dream' school?"

Kurt hadn't known Sebastian even five minutes and he had hit the nail on the head. Kurt didn't have what it took to get into a school like NYADA.

"I have to go." He stood up quickly, grabbing his coffee cup. "I only stopped in to get a pick-me-up drink on the way to the shop. Tell Blaine I'll talk to him later."

Kurt left the Lima Bean and got into his Navigator. He put the coffee up in the drink holder, put his seat belt on quickly, put the Navigator in reverse, pulled out of the spot, changed to drive, and headed out of the parking lot. He got to the exit, put his turn signal on to head to the shop, then suddenly changed his mind and flipped the signal to the other direction. He drove straight to the Lima Library.

He headed inside and found the area where the books about applying to college were. He pulled all of them off the shelf and took them to a table away from everyone else. He looked through them and realized that he didn't have nearly enough to put on his CV to make him look like a good candidate.

He stacked the books that looked the most useful together to check out later and carried them over to the public computer section. He sat down and logged in. He looked up NYADA. The acceptance rate was 7.5%. He looked through the information and did some calculations of his own. There were six departments, and the most sought after slots were in the musical theater department. Typically around 1600 people applied for the 120 available spots, but over 400 of those applicants were for the 20 musical theater department slots, which changed the acceptance rate to less than 5%.

He looked up other New York City schools with musical theater departments. He wrote down the names, the tuition cost, and the room/board price - if the school offered it. He was shocked to see the cost of the tuition alone at some of the schools was close to $60K a year. Even if his dad helped, he would have to take out huge loans.

He looked on a different website to find the cost of renting an apartment in New York City. He about choked when he saw the price of a two-bedroom apartment, which is what he would need to live with Rachel. He could not afford half the rent on a two-bedroom. He switched his search to efficiency apartments because they were the least expensive. Even those were out of what he considered to be a reasonable range. It definitely changed his opinion on the cost of room/board from what he had thought when he had written those down.

He switched again to looking up how much Broadway and off-Broadway performers made. He was shocked to find that off-Broadway performers didn't make anymore than a qualified mechanic. Broadway actors made more. But what reason did he have to think that he could get a job on Broadway any time soon? He couldn't even get the lead in a high school play when he was the only one who specifically auditioned for the role.

On $50K a year in a decent-sized town, he could live a comfortable life. Own a house, get a dog, work regular hours, and be set. In New York City, on the same off-Broadway income, he'd barely be able to afford a decent one-bedroom apartment.

What was his real goal? He sat and thought. His real goal was to get out of Ohio, more specifically out of Lima. He thought about whether his goal of getting out of Lima was worth $250K in debt. He also thought about whether he could tolerate four years of Rachel and others like her. His eyes began to fill with tears when he realized that Blaine was just like Rachel.

When she thought she might not get Maria, she automatically went and put herself in the race for class president. "Who cares about you, buddy?" flashed back into his mind from the year before. He thought they had worked past that, but they hadn't. He just hadn't tried to get anything she might want since then, so there had been no reason to push him down. But the instant she thought she wasn't going to get what she wanted, he was as expendable as he had always been. It really would have been a match made in heaven if Blaine had been bi.

Blaine. What was he going to do about Blaine? Clearly Blaine was going on non-dates with Sebastian, just like he had done with Kurt before they were actually dating. Sebastian was being openly flirty. Was he after Blaine? For what reason?

Sebastian. "We met at Dalton." He'd be the next person for Kurt to talk to. He'd make a trip out to see the Warblers just like Blaine had. Why didn't Blaine take him with him in the first place? Oh. He went to brag.

Since they had just had a non-date, surely they didn't have another one scheduled for the next day. Kurt went through his schedule in his head. He had _West Side Story_ rehearsal, but he wasn't really needed since he had no singing or dancing parts and that was what the rehearsal was specifically for. He'd tell Miss Pillsbury that he wouldn't be able to stay and he'd head out to Dalton as soon as school let out.

He packed his notebook back into his satchel. He checked out the most useful of the books he had pulled off the shelf and headed home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He sat down at the table for dinner later that evening.

"Hey, kiddo, I thought you were going to stop by the shop this afternoon and put in a few hours."

"I was, Dad. Then, I realized that I needed to go to the library to get some books about applying for college."

"I thought you and Rachel were applying to NYADA," Finn said.

Kurt realized his misstep and attempted to tell the truth without giving anything away. "Oh, I am. I'm just trying to find the best way to present myself in the applications so I have the best chance at getting in."

"I get it. Maybe Rachel should read them too."

"Maybe."

"So, what about tomorrow then?" Burt asked.

"I can't, Dad. I really need to work on this. Deadlines for applying are coming up and I haven't started on my application yet. Maybe once I read those books, I won't be so worried, but until then, I really need to focus. I'll put in extra hours soon."

"It's okay, bud. I know you've gotta do what you gotta do for stuff like that."

"Are you applying anywhere in New York, Finn?" Kurt asked.

"Nah, I no idea what I want to do."

"So, you're not going to go with Rachel to New York?"

"That's not for like another almost year. I don't know."

"Finn, Kurt's right," Carole said. "You can't just wait until the end of summer to decide. You have to apply now and get in places. Once you have acceptance letters, you can make your final choice between the places you get in."

"I don't even want to go to college. I hate school."

"Alright." Kurt said. "Are you just going to move to New York with Rachel and get a job?"

"I guess I could."

"Whatever Finn. I'm not leaving things up to chance. I'm working on everything now so I actually have a chance of getting out of Lima."

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went back to his room, turned his laptop on, and resumed his research from earlier that afternoon. What he found out actually surprised him. Two of the top 25 musical theater programs in the US were actually IN Ohio - one in Akron and one in Cincinnati, with the Cincinnati program being ranked significantly higher, in the top five, and the tuition was one-third the cost of the one in Akron and less than one-fifth the cost of the programs in New York. He definitely needed to plan a trip to Cincinnati to check the school out.

He did his homework quickly. Afterwards, he switched to reading the books about applying to college. What he already knew came screaming off the pages. He was woefully underprepared to fill out the applications. He did not have enough extra-curricular activities. No one wanted him in any of the afterschool clubs, so he had avoided those.

He had Glee, but that wasn't enough. He had never sung lead in a competition and they hadn't done that well at Nationals. He had the two competitions with the Warblers. He could list the duet he had with Blaine. He had no acting roles besides Krupke, who didn't even sing or dance - unless he could list the _Rocky Horror Picture Show_ that was never actually performed for an audience.

He had worked, but it was for his dad, which didn't make it look like had to put much effort into getting or keeping the job. He had his ASE certifications. He could list those and maybe get some more before it was time to turn the applications in.

What else was there? The only thing that came to mind was rejoining the Cheerios. Could he withstand an entire school year of Coach Sue's weigh-ins and food policing? He had gotten taller since the last time he was on the squad and hadn't gained any weight. Maybe he could slip in under the radar and stay there. It was a chance to shine, which he obviously was not going to get through Glee. He'd have to really consider it.

He saw a listing for a website about scholarships in one of the books. He bookmarked it so he could look at it more. He packed up his schoolbooks in his satchel and the library books and his laptop in another bag. He would leave the second bag in his car during school.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After school, Kurt headed straight to Dalton. He was immediately recognized by the secretary and given a pass to be in the building until curfew. He headed to the Warblers practice room hoping to find that Sebastian was still hanging around after rehearsal. If not, he hoped to find someone who remembered him and get Sebastian's number.

He found Sebastian sitting on one of the couches reading a textbook. He sat down on the couch leaving enough space between them that someone else could sit down.

Sebastian looked up from his textbook. "Well, if it isn't the runway wannabe. Why are you here?"

"I actually came to talk to you." Kurt tried to keep from fidgeting with his hands.

"You drove all the way from Lima to talk to me when we're going out in West Lima tonight? What was so important that you needed to spend three extra hours driving today?"

"What?"

"I guess Blaine didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Kurt looked totally lost.

"The three of us are going out tonight." He lowered his voice to lower than a whisper. "I have your fake IDs."

"What?" He was completely lost at that point.

"Being hard of hearing isn't going to make it easy to succeed in theater."

"I'm not hard of hearing. I just have no idea what you're talking about."

"We'll talk about that later. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"First, I just want to ask you a question. How many times have you and Blaine gone out for coffee?"

"Um." He thought about it. "Four, if you count the first time we had coffee here. I've driven to Lima once. He's driven here twice since the day he brought the tickets."

"I see. And when did you find out about me?"

"From him - when you walked up to the table yesterday. From the other Warblers, back at the beginning of the semester - so about 2 months ago."

"I see." Kurt still looked curious, but not as confused.

"As for knowing about NYADA and what not - if you don't want people you don't know to know things about you, I'd suggest getting Rachel Berry to stop openly posting on her Facebook page about your joint activities, like attending the NYADA mixer and her plans for you to be her best gay in New York."

"She did NOT say that did she?" Kurt asked indignantly.

"She didn't have to. She's running against you for senior class president. She strings you along, but takes what you need. Just like Blaine."

"You're very full of yourself."

"Nah. I'm just good at reading people. And you are a self-deprecating, self-defeating person who lets people walk all over you in the name of friendship and/or love."

"Wow. So, what is it that we are doing this evening that I have yet to be informed of?"

Sebastian answered nearly silently again. "Going to Scandals."

Kurt shrugged. "That means nothing to me."

Still silently speaking, "It's a gay bar in West Lima."

"Oh. Why do we need to go there?"

"To dance, to relax, to have fun. Be ourselves somewhere."

"I can do those things in my bedroom and not risk the things I'd be risking by going there."

"Live a little." Sebastian poked fun at him.

"Or die a lot, if we get caught," he whispered.

"Suit yourself. I'm meeting Blaine there at 8:00."

"On a school night?"

"I don't have school tomorrow. I'm going to crash in Lima and pretend I went home for the night."

"I see."

"Why did you come all the way here?"

"Well, it seems that Blaine knows you quite well. I figured we should get to know each other." This time, Kurt's answer was more confident, or at least he hoped it seemed that way.

"Sizing me up. Well, the truth is Blaine's cute. He's got a nice ass. I haven't gotten any action around here and he likes the attention, which makes me wonder why he's looking since I met you. You are all kinds of hot. You're a good tailor. Your knock-off replicas are good. I'm sure no one around here appreciates your eccentric tastes though."

"Thank you? And how do you know they're replicas?"

"My stepmother is a huge Vogue fan. The magazines lay in the library on the table next to where she reads."

"I see."

"And why I know they're replicas is because I've seen the price tags on the real pieces and no one whose father is a mechanic could afford to wear $3000 shirts."

"Point taken. We are far from poor, but no, I don't have $3000 to spend on a shirt."

"I will say you rock the tight jeans. Better ass than Blaine for sure."

Kurt blushed. "Thanks?"

"Has no one ever complimented you?"

"Not really. Actually no. Not unless you count Tina and Mercedes."

"Not really," he scoffed. "Not unless they were hitting on you because they're obviously too dumb to know that straight boys don't dress fashionably unless their mothers or sisters pick out their clothes."

"Well, Mercedes had a crush on me sophomore year."

Sebastian laughed.

"I dated a cheerleader later that same year during my nearly weeklong attempt to be straight," he said somewhere between snidely and teasingly.

"Now, that I would have paid to see. Flannel, ball cap, baggy jeans?"

"You got it. Oh, and I sang Mellencamp in Glee," he said, eyes looking up to the side tilting his head, in a semi-condescending way, mocking himself.

"Nice."

"So, tell me about you."

"I'm 18. I grew up in France. If I can manage to pass all of the asinine classes I'm in, I'll graduate in May, but I don't know if I can keep up with the workload. I don't have the cultural references and background I need. I'm taking American History and American Literature in addition to US Government and my other six classes, which is tough. I'm taking French though, so that's an easy A."

"When you say 'in addition to', you mean you're taking nine classes?"

"Two of them are independent study – the American Lit and History courses. I have to do all of the reading, take the tests, and write the papers on my own time."

"So, why are you driving to Lima 90 minutes each way wasting time getting coffee with Blaine?"

"It seemed like something with a good potential for some occasional fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah. You do know what the word means, right?" he slid the textbook off his lap and turned more towards Kurt.

"Well, you having the type of 'fun' I'm used to hearing about with my boyfriend doesn't work for me."

"Well, to be honest, he didn't seem that into you given that he'd never mentioned you. And originally my main goal was actually to get him to come back to Dalton. The fanboys here drive me nuts with their 'Blaine this' and 'Blaine that' talk. And if he were here, I wouldn't have to listen to that anymore."

"I see. Well, I don't know what to tell you about that. He'd be about 10 weeks behind on schoolwork, but it can be done. I showed up with only 4 weeks left in the semester last fall and got caught up."

"That's impressive."

"Thanks?"

"There you go again with the questioning the compliments."

"I'll work on it."

Sebastian laughed.

"So, you're trying to lure him back here and have 'fun' with him, the type of fun remains yet undefined."

"Well, he didn't really seem all that committed since he talked about the musical and his potential for being the lead male in New Directions and going to Nationals every time we got together. And honestly, he really seemed to be into the attention."

"I see. Well, whatever his level of commitment, he hasn't broken it off with me, so he's still off-limits."

"I got that. Now that we've gotten together several times, I'm not sure how dedicated I am to pursue getting him back to Dalton where his fanboys think he belongs because of his propensity for stealing people's roles. I'm not sure I want him back here challenging me since I'm lead Warbler now."

Kurt's phone buzzed with a text. "Excuse me." Kurt stood up and moved away from the couch and read the message, which informed him of their evening with Sebastian in Lima.

"Well, there you go. My presence has been requested this evening at, well you know where. He says he'll pick me up at 7:30."

"I'll just give you the things I have for you while you're here."

"Alright." Kurt sat down on the arm of the couch and faced Sebastian.

"They're in my room. I'll go get them in a few minutes."

"Why are you here for your junior or senior year or whatever? Where were you before?"

"In Paris."

"For how long?"

"My whole life."

"Why would you come here for your last year of school?"

"Wasn't by choice. Trust me. If I can't manage to do well in all 9 of my classes and I end up having to drop some, I'll get the great pleasure of staying an extra year. My father does not know about the extra classes."

"You want to go back."

"As soon as possible. Living in central Ohio was not part of my plan."

"How did you end up here?"

"Well, my father told my mother he would only pay for my schooling if I came to Dalton, meaning that I'd no longer be able to attend the private school I've been going to in Paris."

"And your mother sent you here."

"Yes."

"Do you at least get along with your father?"

Sebastian snorted. "My father is a conservative Republican politician with an American wife and two more kids."

"So, why are we going where we're going? Are you trying to get sent home?"

"He lives on the south side of Columbus. The likelihood anyone he knows will be where we're going is slim to none."

"Well, as I learned in math, the distance between any two numbers is infinite. There is always a chance between slim and none, which is why I've decided that I will not be going tonight. I'll change the plans. I'll be his ride home, but that's it. You pick him up and take him. I'll pick him up in time to get home by curfew, which is 11:00pm on a weeknight for me."

"Live a little."

"Not happening. My dad is running for Congress. Me getting picked up…there…will not help him win. Why did you come at me so strong yesterday? You were really insulting for someone who has said halfway decent things to me today."

"I see things you don't. You've lived a small town life. Your so-called 'bestie' is using you. If New Directions is the only thing on your CV, you have zero chance of getting into NYADA. Don't just apply there. At least apply other places. I've only heard you sing 'Candles', which was a terrible choice for a competition piece. You did okay, but it wasn't a good fit for your voice or maybe it was arranged in the wrong key. Maybe you have potential. I don't know. But your boyfriend is the lead in the play and you aren't. He's certain that he's going to be the male lead of your Glee Club soon. What else do you have going for you? You were at Dalton last year where there was no musical to be part of. What role do you have in _West Side Story_?"

"Krupke."

"He doesn't even sing or dance."

"I know." Kurt looked at the time on his phone and sighed loudly. "Well, this has been an unusual afternoon and I'm not sure what to think. You keep what you were going to give me and find someone else who wants it. Just give Blaine his when you pick him up. Text him to get his address. I'll find the address of the place and be there at 10:30 to pick him up. I have to go or I'll be late to dinner." Kurt stood up.

"Wait, before you go, give me your phone." Sebastian reached out.

Kurt handed it to him.

He put his number in and handed it back.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt drove back to Lima with no more clarity than he had left with. The truth was that Blaine was dating Sebastian in the same way that he had dated Kurt. But Kurt knew that if he asked Blaine to stop, that he would argue that there was nothing going on, but that's how Blaine felt about the months they had spent together. Sebastian didn't seem to view the non-dates as completely platonic either since Blaine never mentioned Kurt to him.

Kurt went home and slid right into his spot for dinner. He ate quickly, thanked Carole, and went straight to his room to get his homework done.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Before he left, he texted Carole and told her that he had to leave at 10:00, but that he'd be back at 11:00 – that Blaine needed a ride home. He told her he was taking her car so he could just leave without playing musical cars since she was parked behind him.

Kurt pulled up at 10:20, which was a little early, but he had left with extra time since he wasn't familiar with the area. Blaine wasn't standing inside the door ready to be picked up, which made sense since Kurt was early. But Kurt just wanted to get the task completed and go back home. He pulled into a spot near the entrance. He walked over to the door and opened it just enough to see the bouncer. He stepped inside.

"I'm someone's ride. I need to pick him up."

The guy just nodded.

Kurt stood against the door and texted Blaine, but he didn't respond. He got the bouncer's attention. "Any chance you could go get him? I'm not 21."

"Yeah, sure, kid. What's he look like?"

Kurt described Blaine. The bouncer got up and returned with Blaine a couple of minutes later.

"Thanks."

Kurt got Blaine out the door, barely.

"This is the best night of my life."

"Okay."

"It's the best night of my life."

"I wanna live here. I wanna live here. And I just wanna make art and help people."

Kurt laughed at his nonsense and struggled to get him to the car.

"You could certainly help people make fires with your breath."

"Hey, come on. I only had one beer."

"Sure, you did."

"Hey, kiss me."

Kurt opened the back door of the car. Rebuffing Blaine's request he said, "Oh, no, no, no."

"Kiss me. Come on."

"You're riding in the back. Come on. Lay down."

Kurt struggled to get Blaine into the backseat, even though it shouldn't have been that hard since he had taken Carole's car and it wasn't as if they had to climb up into it to get in.

"All right. All right." Blaine said, acquiescing and getting in.

"Less likely to throw up that way."

As soon as Blaine was completely in the backseat, he pulled Kurt down on top of him and started kissing his neck and wrapped his arms around Kurt preventing him from getting up easily. Kurt struggled.

"Okay, okay, oh. Alright!" Kurt did not want Blaine to touch him that way. "Blaine!"

Blaine had pulled his shirt loose and stuck his hand on Kurt's back. He had let go with his other hand and had it on the side of Kurt's face.

"Alright! Cold hands!" Kurt squawked. He pushed up and back from Blaine a bit.

"Hey, Kurt, let's just do it. I… I want you."

Kurt struggled to keep Blaine's hands off of him. "No! No."

"I want you so bad." Blaine managed to get his hand behind Kurt's neck and pull him forward again.

"No," he repeated emphatically.

Blaine got his other hand behind his neck and pulled him down on to him again.

"No, Blaine. No! Stop it" Kurt broke free from one hand.

"I know you wanted to do it in a field of lilacs, with Sting playing in the background and all that. But who cares where we are? It's all about us, right?"

Kurt had managed to get free from both of Blaine's hands around his neck, but he was still struggling to keep Blaine's hands off of him. "Right, it's about us!" He finally managed to get free from Blaine completely and backed out of the car. "Which is why I don't want to do it on a night that you spent half of dancing with another guy and that you're sober enough to remember it the next day!" By this point, Kurt was yelling panickedly.

Blaine slid over to follow him out of the backseat. "Why are you yelling at me?"

"Because I've never felt less like being intimate with someone, and either you can't tell or you just don't care."

Blaine got the rest of the way out of the backseat and started walking away from the car.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry if I'm trying to be spontaneous and fun." Sarcasm dripped from his words as he threw his arms up in the air melodramatically from about 10 feet from the back of the car.

Kurt was panting and didn't know what to say.

Blaine put his arms down and put his hands on his hips. "I think I'm just gonna walk home."

Kurt slammed the back door of the car and got in the driver's seat, then got right back out and shut the car door. He took off after Blaine.

"Blaine, stop."

"What?" Blaine turned around.

"Look, if you don't want me to take you home, you need to go back inside and find Sebastian and let him take you home or go inside and sober up and call a cab. We're 10 miles or more from where you live. Even in the daylight, sober, it would take you two to three hours to walk home."

"Right, right. Too far to walk."

Kurt managed to corral him and get him to walk back to the building without touching him. Kurt opened the door and Blaine went back inside. Kurt stopped inside the door again.

"He changed his mind and doesn't want me to take him home. Any chance you could grab the tall guy in the green and blue striped shirt so I can tell him?"

"Yeah, sure. Hold on."

Sebastian came over to the entrance.

Kurt spoke as quietly as possible. "Look. You got him drunk or let him get drunk. Either way, you sober him up and get him home. I'm barely going to make curfew and he's not being cooperative with me. I don't have time to argue with him anymore and get back home on time."

"Yeah. Okay. Something's going on that you're not saying."

"And I'm going to continue to not say it. I have to go." Kurt turned and walked out. He got back in Carole's car and drove back home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He managed to escape detection even though he was 10 minutes late. Once he was in his room, he showered and got in bed. He had too much on his mind to do anything else.

He lay there, unable to sleep. What was going on? "I just can't stand to be apart from the person I love." was what he had heard just 9 weeks prior when Blaine showed up at McKinley. "I just want you to be comfortable, so I can be comfortable." was just last week. They'd never so much as touched each other below the belt, or above the belt without clothing, or made out lying on top of each other or anything. He wasn't even sure that the kissing they had done could be considered making out.

They dated for a few days before he went back to McKinley, then for a couple of months long-distance dating with Blaine working at Six Flags near Chicago, staying in a small apartment with a group of students that also worked at the theme park. He came back the week before school started, and then a week after school started, he surprised Kurt by enrolling at McKinley.

What was going on? Why was he seeking Sebastian out to spend time with him?

He had too many unanswered questions, but he refocused. What was he going to do about what had happened in the parking lot? He knew some people got handsy when they were drunk, but that didn't change how violating it had felt to say 'no' repeatedly and not be listened to.

How was having sex in the back of Carole's car going to be 'fun'? 'Spontaneous', yes, due to the lack of proper preparation, but definitely not 'fun' for one of them. Kurt could never bring himself to do something that would hurt Blaine and since there was no evidence that Blaine had anything with him, it sure looked like Blaine didn't have the same compulsion when it came to doing something that would definitely hurt Kurt.

Taking Tony had hurt, really hurt. But what happened in the parking lot went beyond stealing a part in a play. It actually went beyond what Dave had done to him. Why did he feel like he was supposed to be okay with what Blaine had done considering how angry and hurt he had been over what Dave had done?

He thought Dave hated him. He thought Blaine loved him.

But did that matter? Did the fact that Blaine had said that he loved him change what had actually happened? He had actually fought harder to get away from Blaine than he had from Dave. He had only had to push Dave back once. He had repeatedly told Blaine no and had to struggle to get free.

If Tina came to him and told him the exact same story, but she had been the one in Kurt's role, what would he tell her? What would his dad say if he knew?

Tears flowed down his cheeks. He grabbed his iPod and turned on his Madonna playlist and started to sing quietly to block out his thoughts for a while.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Thursday seemed to drag on and on. He and Blaine didn't have any classes together and Blaine never showed up at lunch. The dress rehearsal replaced Glee Club after school. Kurt watched Blaine perform and he was off. His focus just wasn't where it needed to be. He knew that talking to Blaine before the show was a bad idea, so he left before Blaine had finished getting back into his regular clothes.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Once the show was over that evening, Kurt changed and went to look for Blaine. He found him on the stage rehearsing part of a dance that he had messed up during the performance.

"That the beauty of the stage. You get to do it again tomorrow night," Kurt said from the side of the stage. "Your friends were all here. The Warblers. Sebastian."

Blaine stopped practicing and approached Kurt. "Sebastian doesn't mean anything to me, Kurt."

"I realize that may be what you think. But reality says that if you spend a lot of time with someone one-on-one, that the person probably means something to you. If you mean that you aren't interested in him romantically, I can accept that as how you see things right now. And maybe he's just a potential friend, but that still makes him mean something. He's a real person. If his company means nothing to you, you wouldn't keep seeking him out to spend time with him. I'm not one of those people who controls what their significant others do, but you need to think about your actions. I don't think he viewed your non-dates any different than I viewed our non-dates a year ago. I thought you were interested in me romantically then. You went out of your way to spend time with me. You are leading him on, just like you led me on last year."

"What?"

"Your obliviousness is getting old. You've been told before that you lead people on. I told you last year at Valentine's Day that I thought you were going to sing to me, but you sang to Jeremiah. Are you sure that Sebastian sees your non-dates as just hanging out?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you ever talk to him about us? He sure looked surprised to meet me the Lima Bean the other day."

"Oh, I guess not. I've been really excited about the play."

"I know, but Blaine, people don't generally drive 90 minutes each way to see someone just to hang out. He goes to an all-boys school. There are 600 other guys he could just 'hang out' with. Guys only put that much effort into something that has more of a payout."

"Payout?" Seemingly confused, he asked, "So, you think he's trying to get me to hook up with him?"

"I'm not sure exactly his level of interest. I don't know him well enough to know the answer to that. But I do know that you are leading him on. If that's not what you're interested in, you need to make that more clear to him."

"Okay. But obviously I'm not interested because I already have a boyfriend – you." He reached to take Kurt's hand, but didn't succeed.

Kurt pulled his hand behind his back. "Well, that's not going to be an issue for you anymore. I spent a lot of time thinking after what happened last night. I'm not a gay bar superstar. I'm a romantic. You know that. You've known that since, well basically since we met. You obviously enjoyed yourself immensely last night and that is never going to be my scene. And I am not comfortable around you when you've been drinking."

"I'll quit. I mean I won't drink anymore." He shifted his weight again.

"Blaine, there is more than just the drinking going on. Come sit down." Kurt sat on the edge of the stage and Blaine sat next to him. "We've been dating 7 months."

"Right," he nodded.

"Last Friday, I asked you about your interest in moving our relationship forward to something beyond just kissing. And you said my layers were a problem and that you had your right hand to deal with any desires you might have. You said you wanted me to be comfortable so you could be comfortable. But I thought about it. I don't think that's the issue. I was sitting on your bed in your room in your house without any adults home. I straight up offered myself to you and you turned me down. You didn't have to say 'let's have sex now' to accept my offer. We could have tried French kissing, maybe even made out on your bed. But instead you hopped up on the bed, gave me a quick peck on the lips and went back to dancing."

"I remember."

"So, last night's actions were such a 180 from last week that I had to ask myself what was the difference? When I was offering you something and we had all the privacy we needed, why were you uninterested? But then last night, you weren't prepared. I was definitely not prepared. And you were so forceful that I was genuinely afraid. If you had gotten your way last night, I wouldn't be able to walk today."

"I was prepared, but I didn't intend to scare you. I didn't go about it the right way." He tried to look at Kurt, but ended up looking away.

"Obviously. I mean if you had wanted to make out, like French kissing and maybe, let me feel you through your clothes while you did the same, and if we made out until we both came from that? Something that was along the road to what you were trying to do last night? I would have gone along with that. I'd have even been late for curfew to do that in the car with you."

"I wasn't thinking. I was drunk." He kept pressing non-existent wrinkles in his pants.

"I know. I could smell the alcohol on your breath from two feet away."

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"What happened in the car last night was unacceptable. Let's say you had a teenage sister. If the exact same thing had happened to her last night, what would you say to her?"

"Oh."

"Right. What you did was a form of sexual assault. No, you didn't manage to get my clothes off, but not for lack of effort on your part. If I had been a smaller person, you could have succeeded. You only stopped because I defended myself and kept pushing your hands off of me until I could climb out of the car. If I had been under you, things might have turned out differently. Just because I managed to get away doesn't change your intent. I didn't just wake up today hating you instead of loving you like I have for ages. But I can't stay with someone who would do what you did last night. I have some self-respect, Blaine."

"I love you." He reached for Kurt's hand, yet again unsuccessfully.

Kurt put his hands in his lap and interlaced his fingers. "I know that you say that you do, but last night you showed that you don't respect me. What you did changed how I feel. I don't feel the same as I did yesterday. I still love you, but I'm afraid of you now. You broke the bond of trust we had. And that bond was already on really thin ice. You said you'd let me have the lead so I could hopefully get into a good college. What did sabotaging my college application gain you? I mean, you were already going to get leads in competitions that I will never get." Kurt looked up and looked Blaine in the eyes. "I supported you. I've been kind and loving even though you took what I really needed. And last night, you broke what little trust I still had. I can't just overlook the fact that you always put yourself and your needs and wants first."

"I just wanted to play Tony well so badly."

"And you got it, but you've lost me. I can't be your boyfriend anymore. We don't have to end this hating each other. You can go back to Dalton next week, if you want. Obviously the Warblers would take you back with open arms."

Blaine didn't say anything.

"Or you can stay here. We only have Glee together." Kurt's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket to read the text. "Rachel's looking for you. She says you were supposed to be at Breadstix a half-hour ago."

"She's right. Artie's having a cast party. I wanted you to come with me."

"No, thanks. Obviously, my presence wasn't on anyone's radar since, although I am in the play, I was not invited. But we can walk out together so that neither one of us is in the parking lot alone. Let's go." He stood back up and waited for Blaine to follow him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour after he had gotten home, Kurt's phone rang. He mostly got texts, so a call was unusual. He swiped to answer and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Blaine?"

"It's really over, isn't it?"

"Yes, Blaine. Look, I was honest with you earlier. I have always been honest with you. I have loved you and been in love with you for a long time. But no matter how much I love you, I have to have some self-respect. I can't just continue to allow you to hurt me. I deserve to be with someone who doesn't hurt me."

"You're right. You do. I'm…I just want that someone to be me."

"Well, right now, I don't think you're ready to be anyone's boyfriend. I should have listened to you last year. When you told me that you didn't want to mess up our friendship by dating me. You told me you weren't good at romance. I think a more honest version of that statement is that you're not good at putting someone else first. Until you get to the point where you can put someone else's needs or wants at least at an equal level with your own, you're not ready to be anyone's boyfriend."

"I thought I was losing you last year. I didn't want to lose you. Now, I'm losing you."

"Blaine, I don't know what else to say to you right now. I can't be your boyfriend. I can't do this. If you ever get over your incessant need to be the center of attention and get your way all the time, maybe you'll be ready to look for a boyfriend again. Though to be honest, I think you'll need to look for a boyfriend that doesn't have aspirations of being a performer, unless he's an instrumentalist or someone who works on the sets. I have to go now."

Kurt ended the call and set his phone to silent and fell back onto his bed, tears streaming down his cheeks.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday at lunch, Kurt called the university and made an appointment to visit and speak with someone about the musical theater program for the following Tuesday. He headed to Miss Pillsbury's office to get an excused absence Tuesday for the out-of-town college visit. He went through the rest of his day as usual.

He worked at the shop for a few hours after school and was back at the school to give his best Krupke performance. He asked Lauren to get one of the AV guys to film just the parts of the show when he was on stage.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He used the weekend to go through his room. He had gotten the "I'm going to college and moving on" motivation and sorted through everything in his room. He started with his bookshelves before he went to school for the matinee performance. He tossed their prom picture from the year before. He took the frame, the scepter and the crown and put them in a box along with some other things he found around his room that he didn't need anymore.

He went home after the matinee performance and collected up everything he had that belonged to Blaine and put it in a small box. After that, he tackled his dresser because he knew he didn't have a lot of time to start a huge project before dinner. After he ate, he went back to school for the evening performance.

Afterwards, he asked Blaine to follow him to the Navigator and gave him the box. Seeing Blaine's face when he realized what was in the box made Kurt question his resolve to follow through with breaking up with him. He had to force himself to get in and shut the door and drive away because all he really wanted to do was hug Blaine.

Kurt grabbed some granola bars and fruit and stayed in his room all day Sunday. He cleaned out everything he owned. He packed up what he thought he could sell and everything else went into donation boxes.

He hung up the few costumes he thought he might be able to reuse, like the _Victor/Victoria_ outfit, his Riff Raff costume, and a few others. He added "buy large garment bag" to his list of things he needed to do.

The rest of the costumes went into the donation box after he photographed them. Halloween was in a little more than a week. If he dropped the boxes off when he was in Cincinnati, someone would be more likely to want them than if he dropped them off in Lima.

After a while, he lost interest in the reorganization of his closet and decided that getting rid of what he didn't need or didn't fit was good enough for one day.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He carried the boxes to the Navigator the next morning before anyone got up.

He went to school and did his best to not let on that anything was wrong. He was testing the limits of his acting, but he kept refocusing his mind on his trip the next day and it helped.

After school, he went to Sue's office and asked to rejoin the Cheerios. He was summarily put on the scale, and much to Kurt's pleasure, he was not overweight, even according to Sue's standards. They negotiated the terms of his involvement.

She handed him two uniforms and a Cheerios backpack, which he had refused the last time, but agreed to as a concession to get what he wanted – a male letterman jacket, only wearing the uniform on varsity game days, and no weekly weigh in.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday he didn't go to school. He headed to Cincinnati first thing in the morning. About 2.5 hours later, he was sitting in an office waiting for the person he was meeting.

A guy in his early 20s walked in the door and said, "Kurt Hummel?"

Kurt looked up. He stood up and walked over to the guy, who was about 6 feet tall, had medium brown hair, cut similarly to Finn and was dressed casually in fitted jeans, a button up shirt, and Sperry's.

"I'm Matt. Matt Shiffley."

"Nice to meet you." Kurt offered his hand, which Matt shook.

"Let's go this way. We'll go down to my office. We'll it's a shared office, but it's mine for the next two hours."

They got inside this office and Matt indicated for Kurt to sit down, which he did.

"So, you're interested in studying musical theater here?"

"I am. I've come in to see the school and find out more about it, but mostly because I'm really concerned that I don't have the qualifications to even be considered for admission."

"And why's that?"

Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm a countertenor and my choir director doesn't see me as leading man material. Actually no one at my school sees me as leading man material."

"So, you audition but never get chosen?"

"Well, our director never really auditions for the lead, he just chooses."

"I see. Do you have any experience in acting?"

"Last year, the director chose the _Rocky Horror Picture Show_ as our fall musical."

Matt's face changed to bewilderment.

"Exactly. Once people in leadership found out, the show was cancelled. I was Riff Raff, but I'm not sure it counts for anything. This past weekend we performed _West Side Story_ and I played Krupke," he said less than enthusiastically.

"Unusual for someone who I'm assuming can sing and dance to be cast as Krupke."

"I'll confess that I eavesdropped on the decision-making process for Tony and the teacher, counselor, and student involved in co-directing the musical decided that I am too feminine to play Tony. That is the general consensus period. I am too feminine to be considered for a male lead." He looked down at his lap, and then back up.

"You don't strike me as overly feminine. I would have guessed gay because you look like you belong in a fashion magazine. Your speech pattern isn't really all that feminine, even though your speaking voice is a bit high for a guy your age."

"Well, you're right. I am gay and I do love fashion."

"Do you do design work?"

"Yes." He smiled.

"We'll talk about that too, but back to acting for now. Did you bring a video of you in _West Side Story_?"

"I did." He pulled the video up on his phone and handed it to Matt.

He watched the different clips, laughing here and there.

"Well, your portrayal of Krupke was hilarious and not the least bit effeminate."

"Thank you." He sat up a bit straighter.

"What do you think sets you apart from the guy who got the lead?"

"People take him seriously as a man."

"And why's that?"

"I'm honestly not sure. He dresses far more outlandishly than I do as far as color schemes. Maybe it's just the fact that he has a deeper speaking voice and more masculine traits? He's shorter than me, but has larger hands, broader shoulders, more angular facial features."

"That's probably part of it. But I think part of it is probably the way he presents himself. If I were to guess, he's very into himself and very self-confident, at least in his outward portrayal of himself."

"Yes."

"And you are very hesitant. You come across as expecting me to dislike you or not want to help you."

"Years of life experience." Kurt's voice waivered slightly.

"You've been bullied."

"Yes." He nodded.

"And not just by people your own age."

"Right."

"Alright. Here's what I think. I'd like to take you on as a private acting student. I will offer this arrangement. I will give you private lessons for free in exchange for being able to use whatever I learn from helping you in any paper that I write. Of course, I will give you a pseudonym. I teach a few other high school students, so my professors won't know who you are by your real name."

"Your professors?" Kurt tilted his head, a bit confused.

"I forgot to mention that part. I am in my first year as a Master's student here. The AI's, associate instructors, all share this office. I am not a voice teacher, so I cannot help you with anything that might need to be addressed about your singing voice. I can recommend someone though, if you're interested."

"Definitely. I've never had any training. I've gone to a couple of people. I was told to come back when my voice changed. I'm 18. I think that's unlikely at this point."

"What your range?"

"A2-A5."

"That's impressive. Do you have any videos of you singing?"

"I don't have anything really recent, but I have one from last year." Kurt pulled up the video of him singing "Le Jazz Hot" and handed his phone back to Matt.

He watched, clearly enjoying Kurt's version. "That was spectacular. Did you make the outfit?"

"Yes." A smile slipped through.

"Was that for a talent show or something?"

"No, we were assigned to do duets, but we had an odd number of students. I had asked a new guy to sing with me and he agreed, but then I was pressured into backing out because I didn't want him to end up bullied for singing with me. So, I sang that as my duet."

"Who did the choreography?"

"Me."

"I think you are less underprepared than you think. If you have any more videos of that level of theatricality, those should be included on your CV."

"I directed and played a role in a reimagining of Madonna's 'Vogue'. I directed and choreographed it and did the costuming."

"See, now that shows ambition. That should be included on your CV as well. Have you been in anything besides choir?"

"I just rejoined the cheerleading squad yesterday. I was a cheerleader my sophomore year as well. I sang a 14-minute Celine Dion medley in French. We won the national title that year."

"That's impressive. I'm sure there's a video of that somewhere too."

"It was aired on ESPN."

"I think what you lack most is confidence in your own person – in who you are. When I see you on stage, you are incredibly confident. Not just anyone can get up and belt out a Julie Andrews song like that."

"Thank you." Kurt blushed slightly.

"So, I know it takes you a little over two hours of driving to get here."

Kurt nodded.

"And you obviously can't skip school every week to come."

"Right."

"So, could you come on Mondays and leave directly when school ends? Could you be here by 5:30? We could work from 5:30-7:00. You could be back home by 9:30. Wait, I wanted you to see Trevor. So, would you be available Sunday mornings?"

"Sure."

"Alright, can you email me those videos you showed me and the others – the cheerleading, the 'Vogue' video, and if you have any video footage of the _Rocky Horror Picture Show_, send that too so I can show it to Trevor."

"Sure. Just write your email address on that sheet with Trevor's name."

Kurt put the paper in his satchel.

"So, I have an assignment for you."

"Alright."

"I want you to observe the least overly masculine guy you know for the next few days. Not a gay guy. A straight guy."

"Alright."

"So, think through the guys you know. Think of someone who no one would pick out and assume that he's gay, but if he were in a room full of guys he would be the least masculine of the group."

Kurt sat and thought. "Probably Mike. He's the best dancer in our group. He's a little taller than me, slender, but muscular."

"So, he walks more gracefully than the rest of the guys because he's a dancer?"

"Yes. And he dresses less 'macho' or 'frat boy wannabe' than the rest of the guys."

"Describe how he dresses."

"Fitted jeans, but not skinny jeans. Shoes that are good for breakdancing. Plaid or striped button ups over t-shirts, neither one tucked in. Button up shirt left unbuttoned, sleeves rolled to mid-forearm. Not flannel."

"So, could you achieve this look from clothes that you already own?"

"The jeans, probably not, but the rest, yes."

"Alright, then your job is to go to Goodwill, or anywhere, and buy a pair of jeans that fit, but fit on you the way Mike's pants fit. Wear the whole outfit when you come. Would Saturday work for you this week? I have an idea."

"Sure. I can make anything work."

"Alright. Meet me at this place." He handed Kurt another piece of paper with the name of a park on it. If it's chilly out, wear whatever you think Mike would wear as a jacket."

"Got it. Should I bring my regular clothes with me?"

"Yes. Bring an entire outfit that you would normally go out in, including the jacket."

"Alright. I can't thank you enough for being willing to work with me. Is there something you need me to sign about letting you use me as research?"

"I'll bring it Saturday."

"So, watch Mike this week. Don't be creepy of course, but try to sit where you can observe him."

"Got it."

"Now, let's go on that tour I promised you on the phone."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The congressional race was entering the final phase. Everyone was tense. Kurt decided to wait until after the election to tell his dad that he had rejoined the Cheerios.

Blaine had been hanging around with Rachel a lot since they had been doing the play. Blaine never wanted them to do couple-y things at school, so they didn't – to the point where no one even noticed they had broken up. It made things easier. No drama.

Kurt spent as much time observing Mike as he could get away with. He had his whole outfit ready for his lesson.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Wednesday during Glee, everyone was pretty down in the dumps. They only had 9 people left in New Directions, which was not enough to compete. Some of the band members were willing to fill in and be placeholders, but they weren't strong singers.

Somehow, the idea of going to and getting Sam to come back to Ohio was brought up. Kurt wished he could be the one to go with Finn to see if Sam wanted to come back, but he had already missed school on Tuesday to go to Cincinnati.

Thursday afternoon, Sam came bounding into the room with his guitar, only to be met with an insult-fest a la Snixx. Kurt was so aggravated with her, but she left afterwards. He was happy to see Sam and excited that he was going to be staying at the Hudson-Hummel residence.

After school, Kurt offered to take Sam home so that Finn could take Rachel home and spend the afternoon with her. Kurt helped Sam carry the boxes that he and Finn had dropped off in the garage up to the guest room and then gave Sam privacy to put his stuff away and went to his room to do his homework.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Glee didn't go well Friday after school. Blaine laid into Sam about how they didn't need to "sell themselves" to win when Sam was trying to teach them how to do body rolls. The whole confrontation turned into a blow out and Blaine left and went to the gym to box. Finn went after him.

Kurt took Sam with him after school. They stopped by the shop and got another key made for the Navigator. Kurt had asked Burt to add Sam to his policy the day before since he didn't have his own vehicle anymore. After they got the key, Kurt let Sam take the Navigator home while he stayed to put in a few hours at the shop to work. He rode home with Burt after they closed up.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Saturday morning he headed to the park in Cincinnati to meet Matt. He got out of the Navigator. Matt motioned him over to his car. He got in.

"You look good. Did you watch Mike this week?"

"Yes." He turned to face Matt as much as he could.

"If you had to list five differences in your behavior and his what would they be?"

"Hmm. He doesn't sit with his legs crossed. His gesturing is larger and less frequent. He barely says anything. He slouches in chairs. And there's this unwritten bro code thing they've all got going on, like fist bumps and shoulder bumps and slaps to the back and whatnot that I do not know the rules to that Mike does perfectly."

"Good observations. So, we are going to get out and you are going to let me teach you how to skateboard down there with those other guys. You are going to do your 100% best to behave the way Mike would behave in this situation, assuming that he doesn't know how to skateboard."

"Got it."

"So, no squealing. No acting like you're going to break a nail."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Just covering the bases," he teased. "Do not go overboard and try to act like one of the brutes from your football team or one of the guys the skanks at your school hang out with. Just a straight, quiet teen guy. Get out and let's try this."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, the two of them got back in Matt's car.

"So what did you learn?"

"I guess first and foremost that I am broadcasting 'gay guy' from my hairstyle, my clothes, and some body language. And that there's a chance that I could pass for straight, just not the jock, man's man, kind of straight guy."

"That could come in time. You're too uncomfortable with that to be able to portray that right now."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you despise those types of men – for a variety of reasons."

"Well, that's true."

"I think that you can't allow yourself to see yourself that way because the last thing on earth you would want to be is one of them."

"Okay."

"Think about this. You audition for the _Sound of Music_ and you get cast as Rolf."

"Alright. That could work."

"But he's a Nazi. But the play itself is very flowery and sweet and doesn't show the brutality of the reality of being a Nazi. Contrast that with taking a role in a movie as a Nazi who perpetrated multitudes of horrible crimes and you have to reinact some them."

"I see. It would be a lot easier for me to play the first type of Nazi than the second."

"So, it's going to be easier for you to pretend to be the kind of guy that Mike is than it would be to pretend to be someone you dislike who is toxically male. The trick is though, to be a good actor, you need to be able to do both."

"I get it. The last time I tried to pull of being more masculine, I took it too far and it wasn't believable to the people around me. The people I have grown up around are probably never going to accept a version of me that is hyper-masculine."

"Would you believe it if one of the brutes at your school came to school dressed in an outfit you would wear? Would you believe that he is gay or would you feel like you were being mocked?"

"Mocked for sure." He pictured Azimio in skinny jeans and a sweater and had to keep himself from laughing.

"Okay. Next task. We're going shopping. Don't get too excited."

Kurt laughed.

"Your task is to go in with me and get the sales person to offer you clothes they would offer Mike. And you absolutely cannot give off the vibe that you and I are a couple, but you can't say anything like, 'he's my cousin' or something."

"Got it."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, that was a mixed bag. You managed to pull it off in GAP, but you lost it in Express." They were sitting in Matt's car talking after their mall trip.

"I know." Kurt laughed at himself. "I got too excited. We don't have an Express in Lima and I LOVE their clothes."

"So, what did you learn?"

"If I'm going to portray a character, don't let myself get caught up in my own personal preferences and I have to suppress my natural emotional responses to situations and remember that I'm someone else."

"Good. Try this exercise again yourself a few times this next week. You will probably have to go to a different mall than you normally shop at. Also, try going to a gaming store and see if you can get the sales clerk to pay attention to you. I'm imagining that if you go in to those stores, you get ignored and whoever you're with gets the sales clerk's attention."

"Definitely, even though I do actually play video games. I usually just buy them at Target or online."

"Look interested when you go in. Work hard to make the sales clerk believe you're there to buy something."

"Got it."

"The idea isn't to change who you are because you are fine just the way you are. There's nothing wrong with being gay and liking to dress well. But if you want to walk in to a cold audition and persuade the people you're auditioning in front of that you can be a Nazi or a police officer or a CIA agent, you can't walk in looking delicate and feminine, which is how you said the directors at school saw you. But at the same time, those brutes you know would have to tone it down a lot to get cast as the loving father or the swell uncle."

"I get it. I'll work on it more. What did you find out from Trevor?"

"How early is too early for you? Could you be here at 9:00 on Sunday mornings?"

"I suppose so."

"Alright. So, I'll get the address and send it to you. Wear these clothes and keep your gesturing down to a minimum and talk as little as possible when you come tomorrow. All I've told him is that you're a countertenor wanting voice lessons. I decided to keep the videos until after you meet."

"So, you want me to come back tomorrow morning?"

"I know. It's a lot of driving in one weekend. Normally it will just be one day. I'll meet with you at 10:00 and we'll do real acting lessons for an hour from now on. The assignments will be up to you to do on your own or some we might do together after the hour is up."

"Alright. I'll come back tomorrow morning." Kurt unbuckled his seat belt.

"Be prepared to sing for him. Pick two songs - one to show off your lower range and one to show off your higher range. They don't need to be perfect. He's going to work to improve your skill. He just needs an idea of your range and skill level."

"Thanks." Kurt reached for the door handle.

"Bring your regular clothes tomorrow too. I might have another idea, but we'll see."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at 10:00. And I'll meet Trevor at this church at 9:00."

Kurt got out of Matt's car, got back into his Navigator, and headed back to Lima.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt needed to tell Burt about the acting and voice lessons since he had already missed work several days. He stopped by the shop instead of heading home. Even though it was closed, Burt was there working on some things that he had let slide due to the election.

"Dad, I'm sorry I was gone again today. I just had to get this set up. I won't be going on weekdays or Saturdays anymore – just Sunday mornings."

"Alright. This has to do with applying for college still doesn't it?"

"Yes. I will tell you, but you can't tell Finn. I'm applying to some other places besides New York. I know that New York is my dream, but my dream can't kill my future. The cost of those schools is so high that I'd have to get offered scholarships to make it even remotely reasonable. I want to go to college to learn, not to become a slave to college debt for the first 10 years I get out of school."

"You're a smart kid. I won't say anything to Finn. He's not thinking about his future at all and needs to get with it."

"So, I'm going back tomorrow morning and from now on the lessons will be on Sunday mornings. I'll miss Sunday lunch every week, but it will at least be when I'm not already supposed to be doing something else."

"Alright. Let's head home for dinner."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sunday morning, Kurt arrived a few minutes early to meet Trevor. He was sitting in the only vehicle in the parking lot when Trevor got there. Trevor was about the same height as Kurt with wavy sandy blond, light brown hair that came down past his ears, just long enough to pull back into a pony tail. Kurt got out and grabbed his bag. Kurt followed him up to the building and Trevor let them in.

"My uncle is the associate pastor."

"Ah." Kurt followed Trevor to an upstairs room with a piano in it.

Trevor pulled a speaker out of his bag and sat it on the piano. "I'm assuming that you have a backing track for whatever you're singing for me."

"Yes."

"Alright then. Let's hear what you've got."

Kurt sang "Defying Gravity" and "Something's Coming".

They talked through his strengths and some weaknesses and Trevor agreed to work with him.

"So, I need to get an idea of how much you charge before I can make a decision on how often I can afford lessons."

"I just need you to sign a form like Matt did. I'm a graduate student too, but in the PhD program. I need people to participate in training that are willing to allow me to use recordings, anonymous of course, for my research. Finding a countertenor to work with is a rare find and good for my research."

"I'll definitely sign." Kurt started to get bouncy, but remembered what Matt had said to him and kept his enthusiasm toned down. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I have a recording of someone else singing 'Something's Coming'. He's actually the one that got the part. Can I play it for you and have you tell me what he did that I didn't do?"

"Umm. Sure."

Kurt pulled his phone out and pulled up the video of Blaine's audition, which he had bribed Lauren to give him.

Trevor watched it. "Well, honestly I don't see anything he did that was spectacular. He was flat in a few places. He doesn't seem to have a vibrato. He was very confident, which was good. I wouldn't have chosen him over you."

"Thank you." Kurt took his phone back and put it in his pocket. "I just wanted to be certain that I'm not being blind to something that I obviously need to change."

"I think confidence is what you lack on the lower songs. I get the impression you haven't sung much in your lower range."

"That's true. In Glee I sing second soprano mostly. We had four girls who could sing soprano and two girls who sang alto. I usually sang with the girls. Most of the guys in the group are tenors, so we don't need any more guys unless they can sing low. We have a bass for the first time this year. We have a couple of guys that can sing baritone. The rest are tenors, including the guy in the video. One of them is chosen for lead for the guy's part in a song, not me. But our group split recently and now we have eight guys and only three girls, two sopranos and one alto, so I'm definitely needed to sing second soprano."

That makes sense based on the composition of your group, but as a singer you need to work on all parts of your range. I brought a book of vocal exercises. I'm assuming you know how to read music."

"Yes. I play piano."

"Alright. I'd like you to get this book and each week I'll assign exercises for you from it."

Kurt took his phone out and took a picture of the book. "I'll get one this week."

The rest of the hour, Trevor went through some of the exercises and had Kurt sight sing a few songs just to get a feel for his skill level.

"I'll see you next week. I'll email you with two pieces to work on. I needed to hear you before deciding on what to have you work on."

"Alright. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt was waiting for Kurt in the parking lot. Kurt got into his car.

"We're going to try something, but it's kind of tricky and it might not work."

"Alright." Kurt put his seat belt on.

"So, we're going to act out the same scene four times. I'll describe it to you in a minute. The first two times, you'll be wearing the clothes you have on. The next two times you'll change into your other clothes."

"Okay."

Matt went over their scene and they headed to a coffee shop on campus that had a lot of people in it. Matt and Kurt ordered and went over to table on the far left side of the store. He found a couple of girls to participate in his scene sitting at the table next to them.

He and Kurt started on their experiment.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, what did you think?" Matt asked Kurt as they sat in his car after leaving the coffee shop.

"It was interesting for sure. When you asked them if as a gay guy I had done enough to pass, they believed you that I was gay and gave pointers on things I could do like lower my voice if possible. When we sat down at a new table and you asked the second time through if as a straight guy I had done enough to seem gay, the girls believed you that I was straight and gave pointers like stick my pinky out more when I was drinking the coffee."

"So, what I told them was your baseline worked both ways. When people have expectations, it affects how they view things."

"When you said I was your French cousin and you asked if I came across as gay, they told you 'no' - even in my very gay clothes with my normal gay actions."

"But you were speaking French and they assumed you were just dressed normally for a French guy and that your behavior was normal."

"And the last one where I just played straight and spoke some French and some English and you asked them whether I was gay or straight, and you gave them no hints, they couldn't decide."

"All in expectations. The people you've been around your whole life have these expectations of you. If you went to school dressed this way and behaved exactly the way you did that made those girls think you were straight, your acquaintances at school would still view you as gay because that's how they see you."

"So, when I go to audition, I need to work on developing a neutral masculine persona. I go in acting like a quiet, polite, straight guy wearing middle-of-the-road clothing. And then blow them away by being whoever they need me to be for the part."

"You got it."

"It's like a pre-audition audition."

"Exactly. I don't think you should change who you are. But the point of being an actor is to be the character, and if no one will give you a chance to prove you can be the character, then you lose out."

He rolled his eyes. "Type casting."

"Exactly. You don't want to be pegged as only a certain type of character before you ever get on the stage to demonstrate your skills. I mean you were truly great in that clip from _Rocky Horror_. I would have never even guessed it was you. The make up, the wig, your posture, the way you walked, and your facial expressions. You totally became the character. People need to see that you can do that."

Matt's words brought a small smile to his face. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Now, you just need your own vote of confidence. Now that some college girls were convinced that you were straight, do you at least think that you can make people believe that you are straight?"

"I think so. I still need a lot more work to make it be more natural and less an activity that takes a lot of focus. Remembering to not cross my legs or do this or do that takes up a lot of my brain power at the time. But I think if I consider it as a way to further my career by giving me more potential roles, I can get to where I'm not having to constantly think about it."

"It will be like going into a library. When you were a little kid someone always said, 'Shh, we're in the library.' Eventually, you just changed your behavior to match your environment. I think you can get to where you know you're headed into an audition and you'll be able to put on your pre-audition persona as easily as you remember to be quiet in a library."

"Maybe."

"So next week, we'll stay at the church and I'll bring some scenes for us to work on. Cold readings are oftentimes the hardest part of auditioning. We'll start with a few and I'll bring some things for you to work on for the following week. Are you applying for early admission?"

"Do you think I should?"

"I do. Bring your CV and all of your stuff with you when you come next week."

"I actually have everything with me. I've been working on it."

"Do you have to head back right away?"

"Not if I tell my dad that I'm staying."

"My apartment's not that far from here if you're okay with that."

"Sure. It's too noisy in there to focus."

Kurt put his seat belt on and texted Burt on the way to Matt's apartment.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Wow. That's a heck of an essay."

"Thanks? I know it's really personal. Do you think it's okay?"

Matt could see the concern on Kurt's face. "I think it's really moving."

"What about the CV? Does it look good? I know some of the video files aren't very high quality."

He tried to quell Kurt's worries. "I think they're fine. The admissions department realizes that not everyone has access to professional level recording equipment. You're working on something with Trevor, right?"

"Yes."

"Get it recorded next Sunday morning. I'll tell him."

"Maybe I'll have good news by then about the election and Sectionals. I feel weird applying so early before we even compete." He rocked back and forth anxiously thinking about the election.

"Just getting a featured solo and listing it will be good enough. The admissions committee knows that competitions haven't started yet."

Trying to sound confident, he responded, "I'm going to do my best."

"We'll record your monologues Sunday morning too. That way everything will be ready to submit. Get your school counselor to send in your transcript this week."

"Okay."

"You wanna grab some lunch before you go?"

"Sure."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later that afternoon, Kurt was in the kitchen pulling the first batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Five minutes later, he had two teen boys watching him like hawks.

"Is there something I can help the two of you with?" Kurt asked in a sing-song voice.

"Um, dude. Fresh. Warm. Cookies. You can help me by letting me eat them," Finn said.

"Hey, now. Kurt's my friend too. I'm sure he'll let me have at least a few of them. You can't ask for all of them," Sam countered.

"Well, there are 12 so far. You can each have six."

"Awesome." Finn grabbed a plate and put six cookies on it, grabbed a glass and poured milk into it, and vanished as quickly as he had shown up.

"Thanks, Kurt." Sam took the plate of cookies that Kurt slid toward him.

"You're welcome. Would you like some milk with yours too?"

"Sure."

Kurt got out a glass, poured milk into it, and handed it to Sam. "You know you're welcome to whatever we have. You don't have to wait to be asked or to actually ask for it. You living with us is like us getting another brother. Whatever's here is for you too."

"Thanks." He stuffed a cookie into his mouth.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," he said after he swallowed. "I do wish that Finn hadn't blabbed about what I had been doing in Kentucky. I mean, I would have told you, but not everyone."

"Finn has no filter. He outed Santana earlier this fall, by saying something in the hall that was overheard by the wrong person. He just needs to think before he speaks."

"I actually have a favor to ask you."

"What?" Kurt turned and looked at him.

"You helped me with some of my schoolwork last year…" he said hesitantly.

"I remember."

"Miss Pillsbury informed me yesterday that I have to pass those state tests this year or I won't graduate. I'm certain that my parents wouldn't have agreed for me to come here just for me to need to stay another school year. I already had to repeat 2nd grade, so I'm older than everyone else as it is. I was doing badly in school in Kentucky mostly because I skipped a lot to go work, but not so badly that I wouldn't have graduated. Plus, Kentucky doesn't require those state tests."

"I'll help you in any way that I can. When do you have to take them?"

"In two weeks." He dropped his head dramatically and sighed.

"Well, we need to plan. I don't have anything planned for after dinner at all. So, if you want to focus on getting your schoolwork done while I'm working at the shop, after dinner we can study for the tests. Maybe there's some type of prep materials online or maybe Miss Pillsbury has some."

"That's a good idea." He perked up with Kurt's planning. "I won't make any plans after dinner for the next two weeks. I can't even tell you how much this means to me."

"I understand, Sam. I wouldn't want to be stuck in high school for another year. I know you can keep a secret, so I'll tell you something."

Sam nodded.

"I'm making my get-away plans. I've applied for early admission at one school and I have a list of a few others to apply to if I don't get in to the first place."

"I thought you were going to New York to wherever Rachel keeps talking about."

"That's why this is a secret. I'm not interested in being Rachel's 'best gay', but I'm also not interested in her badgering me all school year."

"I can understand that."

"Whenever you want to go visit your family for a few hours, just let me know. I'm going to Cincinnati every Sunday morning from 9:00 to noon and sometimes later. I know they live just on the other side of the state line."

"Really? I'd love that. I don't want to live there, but I'm going to miss Stevie and Stacey, and my mom and dad too, but especially Stevie and Stacey. I've spent so much time taking care of them that it's really weird not having them around."

"Well, any time you want to go, just tell me."

"What do you do in Cincinnati every week?"

"Another secret."

"Got it."

He stepped closer to where Sam was sitting and spoke more quietly, "I just started taking voice and acting lessons from two graduate students."

"That's cool."

"It is. Both guys seem like they will be very helpful."

Sam nodded. "I hope so. Glee is different without the other girls and with Blaine. Rory seems nice."

"Rory is nice. He's a bass, which should help us get a fuller sound than we've had before. Ignore Blaine. I can't apologize for something I didn't do, but you didn't deserve him going at you like that in class. He's never known what it's like to struggle with money issues. Not that I'm saying that I know what you've been through either, but he shouldn't have said that."

"What happened with the two of you?" Sam gently.

"I broke up with him two weeks ago." Kurt leaned on his elbows on the island.

"I figured out that you had broken up, but why?"

"I've not told anyone at school." Kurt was reluctant to answer.

"Most people at school don't seem to have noticed, but you know I can keep a secret."

"I do, but I don't know if you can keep from being angry and acting on it on my behalf."

"There's a reason for me to be angry and potentially act on that anger? That sounds bad."

The oven beeped. Kurt turned around, put the oven mitt on, and pulled out another sheet of cookies. He turned back to Sam. "There's just one more tray. Let me get them in the oven." He put the dough balls on another cookie sheet, put it in the over and set the timer. He let the previous batch sit and cool.

"Once those come out, we'll go outside and talk more."

"Alright." Sam changed the subject back to the previous one. "So, this school you applied for early admission to?"

"University of Cincinnati. You should apply. The tuition is really affordable and I bet you could get grants."

"Kurt, I'm terrible at school. I hate being dyslexic. I'd totally bomb the SATs. I didn't even pass these state tests last year. If I don't pass, I think I'll go back to Kentucky and finish out the spring semester there, even though I hate it there. I just can't spend another year in high school. At least there, I'd get my diploma and I could start to look for a job."

"You could look for one in Cincinnati. It's a big place and you'd be close to your family." Kurt tried to sound as encouraging as possible.

"I'll look into it. I need to come up with some type of plan. That's for sure. As soon as I take those tests, I'm going to look for a job. I've got to make some money. It's super nice of your family to take me in, but I'm not a mooch. But I really have to pass those tests. So, study first, then get a job ASAP."

"That's how I felt about getting that application in. I guess it feels like this test of whether or not I'm good enough. Dyslexia is your hindrance to feeling like college would work. Mine is my voice and my appearance. Being a countertenor can be cool if you want to be able to do gender-bending classical work, like getting hired for a chamber choir that sings classical music with a professional orchestra. But it's not the kind of thing that's really helpful in musical theater. No one's looking to make a gender-bent _Wicked_ where Elphaba is a wizard or warlock instead of a witch and Fiyero is bisexual."

"Who's Fiyero?"

"Glinda and Elphaba's love interest."

"Ah. I get it." Sam stuffed another cookie in his mouth.

"I couldn't get Coach Beiste and Artie to see me as a potential Tony and he's not even overly masculine in the play. I have to be able to pass as straight. There just aren't many roles for guys like me. I have to be able to make a believable straight male to get the lead in most plays or musicals. That's what the acting lessons are for. To create a believable masculine persona for myself without pushing the masculinity to a point where it's completely unbelievable."

"Is it helping?"

"Well, you could be my assistant for some of my assignments if you want."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm supposed to go out and practice my more masculine alter ego. Go shopping, stuff like that. We won't do it here in Lima, so no one will see you out with me."

"You know I don't care about that."

"I just don't want you hassled for voluntarily spending time with the school fag."

Sam looked him straight in the eye. "Don't call yourself names like that."

Kurt nodded. The oven beeped. He got the last batch of cookies out and left them to cool for a bit. He took the cooled batch and put them in a storage container and washed the cookie sheet while talking. "I'm supposed to go to a video game store and get a sales clerk to size me up as a potential customer and offer to help me."

"That sounds easy. Just walk in."

Kurt shook his head. "Nope. I walk in and I'm completely ignored. I'm invisible."

"Why? They pester me."

"Because you look like someone who plays video games – a potential customer. While I look like I'm waiting on someone else to make up their mind."

"Because of the way you dress?"

"Bingo. My assignment is to look like a guy who plays video games that looks interested enough to get someone to offer to help me."

"I'll go with you sometime."

"I'll see what days I'm supposed to work at the shop."

"Okay. You know, I'll go places with you even around here. I really don't care what those idiots at school think. What have any of them ever done for me? Did they help me watch Stevie and Stacey? Did they bring clothes for the three of us? Bring us food? Help me with my schoolwork? No. I would never have even told them. And even when Rachel and Finn accused you of cheating on Blaine with me, you never waivered. You kept my private life private. You're my friend, not any of those guys."

"Thanks, Sam. I mean that. You're the only guy I've ever met that hasn't made fun of me or worse, much worse."

"I'm nothing special. You've just spent time around a lot of knuckleheads."

"That's not true. You're different and in a good way. There are a lot more knuckleheads, as you call them, than there are guys like you."

Kurt turned around and removed the last batch of cookies from the cookie sheet, put them in the storage container with the previous batch, and left the lid off for the time being. He washed and dried the second cookie sheet and the mixing bowl and put them away. He loaded the rest of the stuff in the dishwasher.

"So, why were you baking? Since it obviously wasn't because you wanted cookies. You didn't eat any of them."

"I can't eat any of them. I rejoined the Cheerios this past week."

"You haven't been in uniform at school."

"I made a deal with Coach Sylvester. I only have to wear it on game days for varsity basketball and baseball. And I didn't cheer last Friday at the last football game because I didn't know the routines well enough yet. But everyone will know when I show up in my uniform on the day of the first basketball game of the season."

"I see. Why'd you rejoin?" Sam put the last cookie in his mouth and washed it down with what was left of the milk in his glass.

"I need another extracurricular activity and none of the afterschool clubs want me as a member. Coach Sue likes me, as crazy as that is. She believed me last year and stood up for me."

"But you can't eat a cookie?"

"At my weigh in, I was within the safe zone for my height. She won't make me drink her concoction or personally watch what I eat at all times if I stay this weight. So, unless I want to do the exercise required to burn all of the calories in the cookie, I won't be eating any cookies."

"I see. You still didn't answer the question."

"Stress baking. When I'm stressed, I bake or sew or make something. But I don't have any projects going right now, so I made cookies."

"Well, we need to find you a project or I'm going to need to drink Sue's concoction."

Kurt laughed. He picked up Sam's plate and glass and put them in the dishwasher.

"So, first we're going out back or wherever it is that you can tell me why you broke it off with Blaine less than two months after he changed schools to be with you, according to what I've heard. And then we're going to start on your acting assignment and I'm going to teach you how to play a video game."

Kurt sighed, obviously hoping that Sam would forget to ask about what had happened.

"You may be the king of deflection, but I have a good memory. Come on."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Press the triangle button."

"I thought you said it was the square button."

"That was to duck."

"Oh, right."

"Push the trigger with your index finger - no your other index finger."

"Got it."

They worked at getting Kurt to be able to do all of the moves without having to look at the controller in practice mode.

"I still feel like punching him."

"No, Sam. Don't."

"I won't. But he deserves it."

Kurt tried to focus on not dying, but he kept talking. "I figure he'll go back to Dalton at the end of the semester. It's really hard to transfer mid-semester and Dalton might not even allow it unless it's an emergency situation like mine last year."

"Do you still love him?"

"Not in the way that I did. I don't trust him anymore, but maybe I was leading him on. I mean I did ask him about moving things forward the week before."

"No, Kurt. Stop." Sam took Kurt's controller. "Look at me." He waited for Kurt to make eye contact before he continued at a barely audible level. "He was way out of line, like criminally out of line. Trusting your partner to stop when you say 'no' is absolutely reasonable and is a basic amount of trust. Even if you were in the backseat of that car in your birthday suit, 'no' means 'no'. It doesn't mean 'hold me down and try harder to convince me' or 'force me.'"

Kurt nodded and looked away.

"This isn't the first time someone's violated you."

Kurt said nothing.

"Look, I won't push you to tell me what else has happened to you because that would make me just as much of a bully as other people have been to you. But if you ever want to talk about it, I'll be here for you."

Kurt nodded.

Sam tried to lighten the mood. He looked through the games on the shelf. "We're switching games. Mario Kart."

"I love Mario Kart."

"What? You already know how to play?"

"Whose game do you think it is?" Kurt laughed.

"You're on, then. You had your chance for me to go easy on you, but now it's ON!"

Thirty minutes later, Burt came down into the family room to find Kurt and Sam smack talking each other.

"Dinner's done, you two. And thanks for the cookies, Kurt."

Kurt looked away from the screen and looked at Burt. "How many did you eat?"

"YES!" Sam yelled.

"DAD!"

Burt laughed. "I only ate one."

"You made me lose!"

Burt was still laughing. "Come on and eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next week was like the same day on repeat, basically. Kurt went to school, went to work at the shop, helped Sam study for the OGTs, did schoolwork, went to bed, got up early, went to Cheerios practice, and then repeated the entire process.

The only unusual things to happen were that Santana created a flash pep rally for Brittany during lunch on Tuesday with a "Girls Run the World" theme. She drew in most of the girls from the school, not just the seniors. Kurt was the only male in attendance. Things were not looking good.

Then, in a complete turnabout, at the debate on Wednesday, Rachel bowed out of the race and encouraged everyone to vote for Kurt.

Saturday was the first time Kurt and Sam had available to work on Kurt's acting assignment. They headed out of town to the closest mall and Kurt put forth his best Mike impersonation, and to his delight, he managed to get the sales clerk to take notice of him and start to attempt to sell him some new games.

They tried out a few clothing stores and had mixed results again. In less desirable stores, Kurt managed to do well, but when they went in someplace he loved, he never quite managed to keep it together. Sam kept showing him clothes that he actually would wear and wanted to buy. Kurt pushed him out of H&M.

"You're not helping, Sam."

"I'm not supposed to help, am I? I thought my role was the best friend sidekick. And as the best friend sidekick, my job is to cause havoc."

"Nope, that's the villain's job. As my sidekick, you're supposed to ensure my success in the mission at hand."

"You know more about superhero movies than you let on."

"I know more about a lot of things than I let on. I actually know the rules to all of the major sports. It's just a lot more fun to rattle my dad's chain and say ridiculous stuff than it is to sit there and watch quietly."

"You're chaotic good."

"D&D."

"What do you know about D&D?"

"Enough to beat you in a campaign," he said haughtily.

"Doubt it."

They kept their banter up and headed to the food court.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sunday, Kurt drove to Cincinnati and presented the songs that Trevor had assigned him. They were completely different from anything he had ever attempted before, but he did his best. Trevor was pleased with his progress. They worked on both songs during the rest of the hour, along with perfecting "Defying Gravity".

The conversation moved to Sectionals about five minutes before the hour was up.

"Have you chosen songs for Sectionals yet?"

"No."

"Be firm this time. Go to your director. Who else in your group is a senior and applying for a music-related major in college?"

"Just one girl."

"Well, you need to point that out. How long have you been in the group?"

"I'm one of the founding four members. This is our third year, but I was gone a lot of last year to a different school."

"But the girl, has she been featured?"

"Every competition."

"So, do yourself a favor. Go in. Be bold. Be confident. Explain that this is important."

"I'll do my best."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt worked on the cold readings with him, taking the girl's parts for himself. He also gave Kurt three monologues to memorize for the next week. They worked on them for a while. The two of them grabbed brunch before Kurt headed back out of town. They decided to wait another week for him to be better prepared to do the recordings for his application.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When he got to school Monday morning, Kurt made an appointment to talk to Mr. Schue after school on Wednesday. He spent the day Monday passing out pins and talking to people trying to drum up votes for the Tuesday election.

Brittany's "Girls Run the World" pep rally the week before and her handing out candy didn't bode well for him, but he tried to keep his spirits up and talked to people about the real issues facing the students and his ideas to make positive changes in the school.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday morning, he arrived at school early and attempted to talk to anyone who would listen. The election was held during third period. During sixth period, Kurt was called down to the office. When he got there, Coach Beiste and Principal Figgins were there and his dad walked in behind him.

Figgins spoke to Burt, "First of all, Mr. Hummel, congratulations on your early exit poll numbers. Things are looking very good indeed for you."

"Thank you, Figgins. Now, can you tell me why I'm here today?"

"There seems to have been some irregularities with the student council ballot boxes."

Kurt asked, "What do you mean by irregularities?"

Coach Beiste answered, "Kurt won, but by 190 votes."

"Well, that's great, right?" Burt asked.

"Well, the problem is that there are more ballots than there are seniors and Kurt won by a suspiciously wide margin," she responded.

Kurt spoke up. "No. I – I – I didn't do it. I didn't cheat. I thought about it but…"

Burt interrupted, "What do you mean you thought about it?"

"I thought about it because I wanted to win so badly and I was worried that I wouldn't, but I didn't cheat. I worked really hard on this. I didn't cheat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went back to his locker after his meeting with Principal Figgins. Rachel and Finn were in the hallway nearby. He walked up to them. "Someone stuffed the ballot boxes. They think I did it. If they can prove it, I could be suspended."

"Oh, my God, Kurt," Rachel said.

"And I lost." He took a breath. "I lost the election. I lost the lead in _West Side Story_. I can forget about getting into college. No one will take me now. And the worst part is that I really, for a second, thought I'd won." By then Kurt, was crying.

Rachel stepped toward him. "Kurt, I'm so sorry."

"I have to go," Kurt said as he practically fled down the hallway.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Wednesday afternoon in Glee, Kurt got up and officially recognized his defeat in the election. He stood and spoke directly to Brittany. 'The people have spoken. They want you, Britt. They want pixie stix. Rule wisely, rule fabulously."

Brittany hugged him happily, not at all realizing what Kurt had lost in losing to her by way of the ballot box fiasco.

Santana sang a song next, and right as she finished, Rachel came in the room. She had been crying.

"Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked.

"I just, um, told Principal Figgins that I rigged the election so that Kurt would win." She looked directly at Kurt. "Kurt, please don't hate me. You're totally in the clear."

Finn asked, "What did he say?"

"He said he had no choice but to put it on my permanent record and that I'm suspended for a week. Also, he said that I was banned from competing at Sectionals."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Burt was there after Glee ended to celebrate with Mr. Schue since he had helped with the congressional election. Kurt hung around and attempted to celebrate, but was still frustrated, considering what had happened earlier. Once his dad left, he stayed to talk to Mr. Schue.

"I made this appointment to talk to you about Sectionals. I want to be considered for a solo. Not just a line in a song, but a solo or a split lead on a whole song with someone. I know we've been talking about doing Michael Jackson and I think that Tina and I would be perfect for the lead on "ABC".

"Tina has already been in asking about splitting the lead on that song with Mike."

"Mike?"

"He wants to be a dancer. Anyway, she had her reasons."

"Mike has been a featured dancer already. He can be a featured dancer again without taking the lead on 'ABC'. He can be part of 'Man in the Mirror'. He can shake it and move it all over the stage during any of the songs without singing lead."

"He's a better male lead, Kurt."

"I'm fed up with your effeminophobia. What is my singing range?"

"You sing second soprano mostly."

"Not what I asked."

"I'm not sure."

"Isn't that a pretty lame answer considering this is my third year in the club? Why don't we go into the choir room and let me demonstrate?"

Kurt went in and sat at the piano. He started at C4 and started singing scales downward. C4-C3. B3-B2. A3-A2. He started again going upward instead. F4-F5. G4-G5. A4-A5.

"You have a three octave range?" he said disbelievingly.

"I do. I have had for most of the time I've been in Glee."

"You blew 'Defying Gravity' on purpose."

"I did. My dad got another one of 'those' calls to the shop the day before. I didn't want to make his life harder by singing that song in a public competition. You didn't even end up using it for a competition anyway. I want the lead with Tina in 'ABC'. I've been in this group since the very beginning. Rachel and I are the only two attempting to pursue college degrees in a music field. I am the only senior who has yet to be featured."

"Mike is a stronger lead," he insisted.

"He is not. You view him as a man and me as I'm not sure what, but not a man. I am gay, not female. Mike being the featured singer will do nothing to further his applications to dance schools. His role in the musical and being a featured dancer will though. The part I got in the play will not improve my chances at getting into a music program. I am not asking for anything unreasonable."

Mr. Schue just stood there with his arms crossed, obviously unconvinced.

"Coach Beiste and Artie's effeminophobia kept me from getting Tony. Don't be part of the problem at this school, Mr. Schue. If you don't believe me ask them. I was eavesdropping, which may have been inadvisable, but what they said and did at the auditions for _West Side Story_ was completely unacceptable. They all admitted that Mercedes was better, but Rachel threw a fit when she was told the role was being double cast. Mercedes dropped out rather than deal with Rachel. The other guys knew I needed Tony for college and they agreed to audition for other parts. I did a better job on my audition than Blaine did, but Artie and Coach Beiste saw him as leading man material, not me."

"You supported Blaine."

"Because I am a decent person who does not throw temper tantrums like a three year old. He went back on his word to me. That, and other things, is what caused me to split with him."

"What?"

"I broke up with him a few weeks ago."

"I didn't know."

"That should tell you something, shouldn't it? You're not really paying attention to what's going on. Your inattention to the other great female singers in our group lost them to Ms. Corcoran. I'm going to ask one last time. Please feature me and Tina on 'ABC'. I can be the male lead. You need to check your own misguided beliefs about gay men."

"I will give you a chance."

"Thank you. But you need to tell Tina that Mike will be a featured dancer before I start to work with her on 'ABC'. If she thinks I'm taking the part that Mike needs, she won't be all that willing to work with me."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Thursday afternoon's Glee rehearsal started with Mr. Schue writing three songs on the board: "ABC", "Control", and "Man in the Mirror".

Next to "ABC" he wrote: Tina & Kurt

Next to "Control" he wrote: Quinn, Blaine & Artie

Next to "Man in the Mirror" he wrote: Sam, Finn, Artie, Blaine, Puck. Mike dances.

They got busy on their arrangements and set out to start on the choreography the next day.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday after school, Kurt and Sam headed to the Lima Bean for a celebratory non-calorie drink for Kurt and a gourmet hot chocolate with real whipped cream for Sam. Kurt chose a table that couldn't be seen from the door or the counter to help minimize the chance of anyone from school seeing them, even though they were already pretty low since most of the people who hassled Kurt weren't the type to spend $4.00 on a coffee. They'd be a lot more apt to hit Taco Bell after school. They both took the lids off their cups to speed up the process of being able to actually drink them.

"So, you did it. You took the tests and did your best."

"I'll find out in early January whether my best was enough. If not, I think I really will head back to Kentucky after Regionals. I mean I'd love to go to Nationals if we win Regionals, but not enough to spend another whole year in high school."

"I understand. If you wait until then, you'd only have to be in school in Kentucky for less than three months."

"Two and a half months I'll hate, but still better than another 10 months in high school next year. I have a question. How did you convince Mr. Schue to give you the lead on that song with Tina?"

"I was persistent, but I didn't threaten to quit or anything," Kurt sipped his coffee.

"Well, you and Tina sound great. I actually never realized what a good singer she is. Rachel overshadows everyone."

"She does. Mercedes was better in the _West Side Story_ auditions. No doubt. And they wanted to double cast Maria, but Rachel got so bent out of shape that Mercedes dropped out. That's how we lost her to the Troubletones."

"She told me. Ooh, I have news."

"What?" he asked excitedly.

He puffed his chest out for effect. "You're looking at the newest member of the varsity basketball team."

"Wow. I didn't know you played basketball."

"I haven't really, except for fun. But I thought about what you said. I'm going to take the SAT and do my best. And I needed something else for my CV. So, I went to Coach and talked to her. Fortunately for me, one of the guys on the team decided to only play hockey this year and quit the basketball team last week. I thought I was going to be stuck with synchronized swimming as my only sport option."

"Well, then, I guess I'll be cheering for you when the games start. So, you and Mercedes?"

"Nah. That was a bad idea on my part. She's happy with Shane and I realized that it was just me wanting to be with someone, and she and I get along well. I'm not in love with her. I know you understand what it feels like to be the only one without someone. I just felt like it's one of those things high school jocks have – a girlfriend. But I'm not going to pursue her. There's someone else I like anyway."

"Really? Do tell." Kurt leaned over the table expectantly.

"Not a chance. I'm not going to jinx myself."

"Fine, fine. Ruin my fun."

"Yeah, yeah. You'll live. Are you ready to go? I'll drop you off at the shop."

"Sure."

They finished off their drinks, tossed the cups, and headed out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt spent Saturday catching up on all of the reading he had put off in order to help Sam study for the OGTs. Kurt knew that none of the teachers ever actually did anything in class to make sure students read the material, but he knew that they all wrote their tests directly from the readings. So, he spent most of the day alternating between working on his monologues, his songs, and getting the readings done.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sunday morning, Kurt was back in Cincinnati in the room in the church. Trevor had brought a digital video recorder and a tripod to use to record his songs. They went through them a couple of times as a warm up and then they recorded him singing each song twice. Afterwards, they watched the videos and chose the better version of each song and burned it to a DVD for Kurt to keep.

After they finished, Kurt told him about the confrontation with Mr. Schuester and his ultimate victory in securing a lead in one of the songs for sectionals. Trevor high fived him and congratulated him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt came in next and he recorded Kurt reciting the three monologues twice as well. They went through the same process.

"You did great. I know it's hard to change mindsets so quickly and you did a really good job. The clothing changes helped too, I think."

"Thanks. I just hope it's good enough."

"Do you want to go over to my place and upload everything from your computer and get everything turned in?"

"Um, sure. I don't want to take up too much of your time. You've already been really helpful."

"It's fine. I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to do it."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt called Sebastian about 30 minutes after he left Matt's apartment.

"Are you busy?"

"Studying, but that's normal. Why?"

"I'll buy you lunch if you meet me in Bellefontaine."

"I can eat free in the cafeteria. I need a better reason than a free lunch."

"Curiosity?"

"Just a minute. I don't even know where that even is." He paused. "Fine. I can be there in an hour."

"Me too. Meet me the diner on Main St."

"It better be on my phone map app."

"See ya."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, Kurt pulled into a parking space and saw Sebastian standing near the diner, wearing the same "Finn twin" outfit that he'd been wearing at Scandals that night.

"You're late," he said as Kurt walked up.

Instead of saying anything, he wrapped Sebastian in a big bear hug.

"What on earth are you hugging me for?"

"You don't like hugs?" Kurt didn't let him go and squeezed him again, and then finally let him go.

"Well, I don't know honestly. I can't say that I'd ever been bear hugged. I've heard the expression, but never seen it done in person, much less been on the receiving end."

Kurt stepped back, giving him some space. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"For telling me what you saw."

Sebastian was thoroughly confused. "I'm pretty sure you're not drunk because as far as I've heard, you don't drink. But you are speaking nonsense."

"_Will it help if I say it in French? Thank you."_ Kurt switched to French.

"_I still don't know what you're thanking me for."_

"_For telling me the truth - for helping me. I applied for early admissions to a college in Cincinnati. I'll apply other places as well."_

"Your French is actually quite good, but I'm still lost, but congratulations on applying early, I think."

"Come on. Let's go inside and I'll explain."

They sat down across from each other in a booth and ordered quickly. They placed their menus behind the condiment rack and started to talk.

"_Explain in French. You can use the practice and I have no one to speak French with."_

"_Alright." _Kurt interlaced his fingers and put his hands up on the table._ "You were confrontational. You said things that hurt. When I thought about them though, I realized that you were right. I broke up with Blaine the day after the two of you went to the bar."_

"_I knew something had happened that night, but you wouldn't say."_

"_Something did happen. What little trust I had left was broken irrevocably."_

"_Alright. That's cryptic, but keep going." _Sebastian placed his thumb at the base of his completely dull table knife and his middle finger near the top and was running the side of his his index finger up and down the flat edge of the knife.

"_I did research. I may not be able to get out of Ohio as quickly as I had hoped, but I found that the musical theater program in Cincinnati is ranked in the top five in the country and the cost is a fraction of going to New York."_

"_I see."_

"_I started vocal and acting lessons two weeks ago with two graduate students."_

"_That's a good idea."_

"_I've learned a lot." _He sat up straighter and told him his good news._ "I stood up for myself and I have the male lead on one of our songs for Sectionals. I know we're not competing against the Warblers unless we both win our Sectionals. Ours are December 3__rd__."_

"_Ours are next weekend." _

"_Well, good luck. I hope you win."_

"_Thank you."_

"_So you're singing with Rachel instead of Blaine or Finn?"_

"_Nope. I'm singing with Tina."_

"_I don't know who Tina is."_

"_Asian girl in our group."_

"_Oh. Okay." _He was trying to picture which one she was. He didn't really remember an Asian girl.

"_She's actually quite good, but she doesn't fight Rachel for solos."_

"_So, how did she get a solo?"_

"_Rachel stuffed the ballot box causing me to lose the election for senior class president."_

"_What?" _He started flipping the knife over in between running his fingertip up and down it.

"_Well, you knew she was running against me."_

_Sebastian nodded._

The waitress put their drinks on the table. Sebastian slid his toward him and slipped the paper off the end of the straw and took a drink.

"_Well, last week at the debate, she dropped out and endorsed me. Then, this week on election day, which was Tuesday, she stuffed the ballot box with ballots with my name checked." _Kurt moved his glass of water, but left it alone.

"_Why didn't they redo the election?" _Sebastian looked really confused and moved his straw around in his glass in a circular motion.

"_Because the insane microcosm of my school is nothing like the logical world of the school you attend. Rachel got a week suspension and got banned from competing at Sectionals. So, we have two girls, eight guys who can sing, and we've enlisted two band members to fill the missing slots so we have 12 people to compete."_

"_Wow, that will be tough."_

"_The Troubletones are good. We'll just have to see. At least I was able to put my lead on my application. And the guys that I've been getting lessons from helped me realize that I had things to put on my CV that I hadn't considered."_

"_Like what?" _He took another sip of his tea.

"_I'll show you if you want to see. I asked you to come meet me because I was excited and to be perfectly honest, you are the only person besides Sam that I thought might actually be even the tiniest bit excited for me, as lame as that may sound. I do appreciate you coming."_

"_So, show me."_

The waitress put their food in front of them. Kurt thanked her.

When she had walked away, Kurt said, "_Scoot over."_ He pushed his food to the same side of the table as Sebastian's. He took his laptop out and handed Sebastian some earbuds. He turned the laptop toward Sebastian and put in the DVD of his songs, monologues, "Vogue", "Le Jazz Hot", and "Bad Romance" along with the snippets from _Rocky Horror_ and _West Side Story_. Once he had it set up, he sat down next to Sebastian and they both ate while Sebastian watched and listened.

They finished eating long before Sebastian finished watching everything. Kurt stacked their plates at the end of the table, put a $20 bill down, and the waitress took them away while Sebastian continued to watch.

"_Well, those were all good. I really had no idea that you were so talented. The Warblers always moan about losing Blaine. Did they not know you could actually sing that well?"_

Kurt moved back to the other side of the table and packed everything back up while he was talking.

"_I don't know. I'm not like the guys at that school. My dad's a mechanic. I fix cars to make money. I pay my own way. My dad's big on personal responsibility. The guys there rely on their family money for everything. 'Oh, let's go to Florida for the weekend.' And they just take a cab to the airport, buy a ticket, and go. I couldn't work at all when I first went there. I told you this. I had four weeks to learn an entire semester's worth of information. Even the second semester, I couldn't work that much. My dad wanted us to spend time together when I did go home. So, I could only work about 8 hours a weekend when I went home, and obviously no hours on the weekends I stayed in Westerville. I just never really managed to fit into the school. Some of the Warblers were nice and friendly to me though."_

"_I see." _Sebastian went back to running his finger along the knife that he hadn't used while eating.

"_Nick, Jeff, Trent, Flint, David, and Thad were about the only ones to ever speak to me outside of rehearsal."_

"_So, why did you even go to Dalton?"_

"_Did you not manage to get that information out of anyone?"_

"_I got that you were bullied, but having met you, I'm pretty sure that something worse than being bullied went on because you don't really strike me as the run-off-to-a-different-school-that-costs-too-much-because-someone-insulted-you type."_

"_I found out something about someone that he didn't want anyone to know and he threatened to kill me."_

He stopped messing with the knife._ "And you had to leave your school?"_

"_I mentioned the insanity, remember? He was expelled, but his parents appealed and he was back in school three days later. But recently one of the girls slapped Finn, no bruising, just a simple slap. She was threatened with a two-week suspension, until he lied and said that it was a stage slap. My bruises had bruises from the locker slams and someone threatened to kill me and he was back three days later. Rachel got suspended for a week for stuffing the ballot box, but there was no do-over. So, slapping the quarterback or rigging an election gets you a more severe punishment than assaulting and threatening to kill the school fag."_

"_Wow. Absolute insanity."_

"_How are things in your insane world of 9 classes, which I am selfishly keeping you from studying for?" _Kurt started to play with his straw, but pushed the glass to his right hoping the waitress would take it away.

"_It's okay. After our talk and my evening out with Blaine, I went to Scandals one other weekend. Talked to a guy. Well, initially I was a jerk to him, but later I apologized and he and I talked for a while. He's a senior and not out to anyone except a couple of people he used to go to school with. His mom is super religious and would send him to conversion camp if she found out."_

"_Ooo. That's bad." _A look of disgust flashed across Kurt's face.

"_I did some reflecting and I decided that 7 months of all study and no fun would be better than mixing potential fun in with 19 months of living here still stuck in high school. I haven't been back. I've been texting with him occasionally though. I convinced him not to go back either. It's just not worth the risk. Conversion camp? Nothing is worth that."_

"_I see. So, you've stopped courting Blaine if you've been staying at school and studying all the time," _he teased.

_Sebastian chortled. "Courting him? That was never on my mind. If I were looking for a long-term relationship it would be with someone like you, not him."_

"_What?" _Kurt was completely taken aback by that response and expected a smart aleck dig at him as the next thing Sebastian would say.

"_What what? You're smart, you're funny, you're good looking, you're kind, and you're fun to talk to. And surprisingly fluent in French, which is just an added bonus."_

Kurt looked at him liked he'd lost his mind.

"_You called me up to show me how you had gotten your act together and done something to improve your future and now you've decided to go back to being a self-deprecating person who lacks self-confidence?"_

"_No. What you said just surprised me." _Kurt considered what Sebastian had just said and looked quite puzzled.

"_Ah, yes, back to the lack of compliments leaving you with no practice at how to respond when people are actually nice to you without wanting something in return."_

"_Something like that." _Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly.

"_Well, all of those things I said are true. I may be a lot of things, but a liar isn't one of them. Except when it comes to how old I am. I've been going out to bars for quite a while. The drinking age in France is 18. I got a fake ID when I was 16. I liked going out and dancing."_

"_I see." _Kurt put his hands in his lap, trying not to fidget.

"_It just seems dumb to have the age set at 21 here."_

Kurt looked off to the side, preventing eye contact._ "Well, I can attest to the fact that allowing someone who's underage to drink isn't a good idea most of the time."_

"_What happened that evening that you brought him back inside?"_

"_Don't you have schoolwork you should be getting back to?" _Kurt started to reach for his satchel.

"_Deflection." _Sebastian was stirring his tea with is straw again, still sipping it occasionally.

Kurt took a deep breath._ "He started to storm off and he threatened to walk home, which would have been about a 3-hour walk in the daylight while sober. I opted to let you try to get him home. I was about to miss curfew and you said you were ditching Dalton and your house and staying in Lima."_

"_Why did he storm off?"_

"_We had a disagreement."_

"_A vague and fairly useless answer. What did you disagree about?"_

"_What the word 'no' means."_

Sebastian sat stunned. Hoping that Kurt had mispoken, he asked in English, "What?"

"About what the word 'no' means."

Sebastian's eyes flashed as his teeth clenched and he took a deep breath then let it out slowly.

"_That's how he irrevocably broke your trust."_

"_Correct."_

"_That makes what happened make more sense."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well, in his inebriated state, he talked about some weird things. Art, or something like that, told him that he and Rachel weren't acting like a couple that was in love and had experienced a sexual awakening. He was asking me if I had ever had sex with someone I loved."_

Kurt about choked._ "His name is Artie. He's the one in the wheelchair. He was the student director. And that question crosses the line of personal boundaries."_

"_And it's one I don't have the answer to."_

"_Oh." _Kurt didn't know what to make of that answer.

"_He was pretty aggravated with my answer."_

"_I wasn't at a lot of the rehearsals because I wasn't needed, so I have no idea what Artie actually said to either one of them. But I could totally see both of them trying to improve their acting by seeking to have the sexual awakening they were told they were lacking."_

"_And you dated him why?" _Sebastian tipped his head to the side slightly while raising one eyebrow in a questioning expression.

"_He was the first out gay guy I had met. He's good-looking and very flirty. We have a lot of common interests."_

"_I see." _He scoffed a little, but couldn't imagine not meeting any other gay guys until he was 17.

"_But the veil clouding my vision of reality was torn when you laid into me the day we met. It was definitely the meanest nice thing someone has ever done or is it the nicest mean thing someone has ever done? Either way, that's why I asked you here – I wanted to thank you. You made me think, and I realized a lot of things. And hopefully, I corrected enough of my mistakes to change the outcome to a positive one."_

He tried to change the tone of the conversation away from the downswing it had taken with what Kurt had just said had happened.He gave Kurt a genuine smile and said,_ "Well, the stuff you submitted was good. How long do you have to wait?"_

"_January 20__th__. The actual early admission application due date isn't until December 1__st__, but my tutors suggested that I get my application in as soon as possible because the music program is really competitive."_

"_That's not too long." _He sipped his tea again. The waitress came over and offered him a refill that he declined.

"_No, and it's before all of the other applications are due. So, I won't waste money applying to other schools if I get in there."_

"_You're sure it's what you want? I thought you were hell-bent on New York."_

"_I've toured the school. The guys that have been giving me lessons like it there and they've been super helpful. I can afford to attend the school. That has to be factored in. Over $250K in debt, or no debt? The school is highly ranked. We'll see if I'm good enough to get in. Are you applying to colleges in hopes that you can keep up your crazy workload all year?"_

"_I will, but applications for colleges in France aren't due until spring. Classes don't get out there until the beginning of July, so the applications are due a lot later."_

"_Will you be able to move back home?" _Kurt adjusted his posture and propped his elbows on the table and crossed his arms in front of him.

"_Yeah," he sighed. "If I go home at the end of May, I will end up sleeping in my own living room until July or I can stay here until July and go home then. But I'd rather sleep on the couch for five weeks than stay with my father any longer than required."_

"_You could stay with me in Lima if you wanted. I have an air mattress or my bed. It's big enough for two people."_

"_This is why your so-called friends have walked all over you. You are a truly decent person and none of them are. That's a really nice offer and I'll keep it in mind."_

"_I'm serious. Sam is already living with us or you could have had the spare bedroom. I guess if he goes back to Kentucky when school gets out, you could have the spare room, or he can share with me, and you can have his room."_

"_Sam? You mentioned him earlier, but I don't know who he is."_

"_Blond guy. You'll see him if you come watch our Sectionals. You could stay at my house that Saturday and Sunday if you want a break from Dalton since you obviously don't want to go to your father's."_

"_You are determined to be nice and friendly to me, aren't you?"_

"_I'm nice and friendly and that's a problem because…?"_ He pursed his lips slightly and just barely winked at Sebastian.

"_I lack appropriate interpersonal skills?"_

Kurt laughed. "_Actually, you're fun to be around too."_

"_Hey now, no saying things like that. You'll ruin my reputation."_

"_Which reputation is that? That you're a curmudgeonly manwhore?" _

He nodded determinedly. _"Exactly." _

"_Why do you want people to think that of you?" _Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head and looked at him curiously.

"_It keeps people away. I've been working on this for ages and you'll blow my cover."_

Kurt laughed even harder. _"Too late for me. I already like you and I know the truth. You made Blaine think you were interested in him to either: 1. To get him back to Dalton or 2: To spy on us. Either outcome would have been fine for your purposes."_

"_I will not confirm or deny your accusations." _He said like he was being accused of a crime.

"_I would like us to be friends. If you really don't want that, just be honest with me."_

"_Fine, I like you. I meant those things I said earlier."_

"_Have you lied to me other than the initial wanting to have 'fun' with Blaine part of your rouse?"_

"_What I said about my family is true. I am taking 9 classes. I don't want to be in high school again next year here in Ohio."_

"_I can't blame you on that last part."_

"_I did want to have fun, though. That wasn't a lie - just not that type of fun. Well, some day, but not with Blaine. He was taken and I knew that, even if he didn't know that I knew. I used to go out dancing in clubs in Paris and it was so much fun. I miss it. I looked up gay bars and that one was on the list and it wasn't that far from where he lives."_

"_There have got to be better places than that dive. Let me look and see what I can find." _Kurt pulled his phone out and looked up LGBT friendly clubs in Columbus._ "There. Look. There are a few. You only have to be 18 to get into them legally. So, your dad wouldn't have to bail you out for any reason, like a bar being raided because someone ratted the bouncer out for letting high school kids in."_

"_Send me that list, please. Maybe some of the guys at school would go. Would you go?"_

"_If I had somewhere to spend the night afterwards. It's too far to drive back that late at night. I did it a few times from Westerville and it's not a fun drive if you're tired. Somewhere on the south or southeast side of Columbus would be best since my voice lesson is at 9:00 on Sunday mornings in Cincinnati."_

"_I'll see what I can figure out. I better get going. You too." _Sebastian scooted out of the booth.

Kurt picked his satchel up, put it over his shoulder, and followed him outside. He followed Sebastian to his car. "Thanks again for coming. It really means a lot to me." He hugged him again.

"You're going to infect me with your niceness if you keep hugging me," he teased.

"Nah, the niceness is already there. It's just buried a bit. The hugging will wear the outer gruff layer off."

Sebastian rolled his eyes and walked around to the driver's side and let himself in. "Bye."

"Bye." Kurt waved, walked back to his Navigator, and headed back to Lima.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt walked in the door and up the stairs to his room. Not a minute after he had shut it, he heard a knock. He had barely made it to his bed to sit down.

"Come in, Sam."

"How did you know it was me?"

"The way you knock, and the fact that Finn just opens the door after he knocks. He doesn't wait to be invited in."

"I see." Sam plopped down on his bed next to him, which surprised Kurt. "I have news."

"Do tell."

"You are looking at the newest, most amazing trainee you've ever had."

"What?"

"Your dad is giving me a job at the shop and you are my boss. Mr. Kurt, sir." Sam saluted him while lying on his back.

"You're such a goof. What I am supposed to train you to do?"

"Whatever it is that you do because you're getting promoted when your dad goes to Washington."

"I see. Well, then tomorrow after school you get to learn the name of every tool on the tool cart."

"That sounds as hard as memorizing all that Spanish vocabulary."

"Ah, but the upside is that I don't care if you can spell the words or not."

"True. That will make it much easier - I think." He laughed. "Either way, it's cool because I'll get to work with you and I won't be ending every sentence with 'Would you like fries with that?'"

Kurt laughed. "So, is your homework done? Can we do something fun?"

"Yes and yes."

"Good. I have news to tell you first though."

"What?"

"I sent everything in this morning. It's done. Now, the wait begins."

"That's great. I'm going to try. Like I told you. It's worth a shot. If I don't try, the answer's 'no'. So, being rejected is no worse in the end. I might as well try."

"So, fun? Suggestions?"

"Paintball?" Sam made a pretend gun with his thumb and index finger and pointed it at Kurt.

Kurt pushed his hand away. "Ouch! No thanks. I've had enough of the bruised looked. I sported that look most of last year."

"Video games?"

"We did that last time."

"Baking?"

"You said you had no willpower to refrain from eating whatever I make."

"I can't help it that you're a really good cook."

"Well, thank you. Other ideas?"

"Ooh. I know."

"What?"

"The duet we never got to do. We'll work on it and when we're ready, we'll do it in Glee."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Sure I'm sure. We'll do 'Under Pressure'. You'll be Freddie Mercury and I'll be David Bowie. We'll work on the outfits to keep you from making me fat."

"Sounds like fun."

"Even if we don't perform it until after winter break, it will give us something fun to work on."

"I'm in. You've convinced me. Everyone knows that song was sung by two guys and it's not a love song to get anyone's tail feathers out of sorts."

"If Finn hassles either of us, let's just say you're helping me with school stuff."

"Both true and vague," Kurt laughed. "And since Finn mostly hates 'school stuff' he won't ask you to explain what kind of school stuff for fear you'll actually explain it to him."

"Let's watch the video."

"Sit up then." He got up and grabbed his laptop and sat back down next to Sam and searched YouTube for the video.

Sam scooted closer and they watched it a few times.

"Alright, you'll need a fake mustache."

"And you need a pastel suit and tie." Kurt laughed. "We'll have to visit Goodwill a few times to find that, then I'll have to alter it to fit you right."

"I can keep it and wear it to prom," Sam teased.

"That, I would love to see."

"I might just do it then."

They horsed around for a while and sang with the video until they got called down for dinner.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Between Glee holding extra long rehearsals, basketball practice, and Cheerios practice, Kurt and Sam didn't get as many hours in at the garage as they had hoped. They both offered to work 8:00-12:00 on Saturday to help get some things done. They also got Burt to agree to let them spend the night in Columbus after going to the Warbler Sectionals and then head to Cincinnati and Kentucky Sunday morning.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sam went home after they finished at the shop. They showered, redressed in clothes to wear to the competition, and they packed overnight bags. They left around 1:00 and made it to the high school in Columbus around 2:30. The competition was set to start at 3:00.

The Warblers totally rocked the three songs they performed. Sebastian was charismatic, but not showy. He did the dance moves with the group, but frequently added a few extra steps of his own that set him apart a bit without making him look out of step. Kurt knew they would win as soon as he had seen all four groups.

Afterwards, Sam and Kurt waited for Sebastian in the lobby on a bench.

When Sebastian got close, they stood up. Kurt said, "Sebastian, this is Sam. Sam, Sebastian."

They both nodded at each other.

"Congratulations! You were fantastic. Really." Kurt rocked up on his toes excitedly.

Sebastian smiled. "Thanks."

"So, we'll drive to your father's place?"

"Yep. You can try to follow me, but we might get separated in traffic. I texted you the address."

They drove for about 20 minutes. Sam and Kurt sang along to the radio.

"Wow. Schmancy," Sam said as they pulled up. "Are you sure this is the place?"

"I followed the directions from my phone."

Sebastian came out of the house and walked up to the Navigator. "Are you just going to sit there and gawk or are you parking and getting out?"

"Parking." Kurt rolled his eyes and drove up to the garage area. "Remember what I said. Ignore his potential gruffness. He's actually a nice guy."

"I will. Unless he's mean to you, then he's fair game for a smackdown."

"My hero," he said and batted his eyelashes.

"You know it." He puffed his chest out.

Kurt shoved him. "You goof. Get your bag and get out."

Kurt and Sam followed Sebastian inside.

"What no butler?" Kurt asked.

"I gave him the night off," Sebastian said very seriously.

"Oh."

"Just joking. We don't have a butler. There's a housekeeper, but she's only here in the daytime. Come on. My room's upstairs." Sebastian took the stairs two at a time, and then led them down the hall and into his room.

"I've got a king size bed that we can all sleep in or we can split up and you two can sleep in Thing 1 and Thing 2's rooms. The housekeeper put clean sheets on before she left Friday."

"Um. I say we try to stay in here and touch as little of the rest of the house as possible since you didn't really ask if we could stay," Kurt said.

"Suit yourself. The bathroom is through there," pointing to the door in the middle of the wall.

Kurt and Sam changed their clothes.

"Let's get going," Kurt said. "We'll stop and get something to eat and then meet everyone else at the club. My treat. How about Chinese?"

"Sounds good to me," Sebastian said, trying to keep from being obvious as he checked Kurt out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt sat down at the bar, just to observe a little before he joined in the dancing.

"Can I get another beer, please?"

Kurt turned toward the voice and laughed.

Dave smiled at him.

"So, how's life at your new school?"

"Fine." Dave shook his head in resignation. "You know, I just want to have a normal senior year and play football without my teammates hearing rumors about me."

"Just so you know, I would have never told anyone. That's not who I am."

Dave nodded.

Kurt looked around a little more before he asked, "So, you come here all the time?"

"No, actually it's my first time here. I was invited, but I haven't seen the guy I'm meeting yet. I was going to another place before this. I liked it. I felt accepted, but it was a little too close to home. I thought someplace a little farther away might be better."

"I get that."

Sebastian walked up behind them.

"I see you already met Bear Cub."

"What?" Kurt asked. He turned back to Dave. "Because you look like Yogi?"

Sebastian laughed and turned back toward the dance floor looking for the others.

"Because I'm burly or something."

Kurt nodded, but didn't understand.

They both sat there in an uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes.

"Is this the part where you judge me?"

"No, as long as you aren't beating people up, I'm all for you being whoever you have to be at your own speed."

Dave nodded. "Right now, I'm just trying to get through high school."

Kurt nodded, understanding that sentiment perfectly.

"Here's to baby steps." Dave raised his beer bottle in a toast.

Kurt clinked his soda glass against the bottle, "Baby steps."

"Look, I have one thing I want to apologize to you for."

Dave started to speak.

"Shh. Just listen. When Blaine came to the school to support me so I could get up the nerve to talk to you, he was very publicly confrontational and we nearly outed you on the stairs."

"He could have completely ruined my life." Dave twirled the beer bottle on the counter.

"I realize that now." Kurt tried to maintain eye contact, but looked away from time to time as he spoke. "At the time, I was so terrified of you that my fear kept me from thinking clearly. When Finn accidentally outed Santana by saying something in the hall this fall and it was overheard by someone who used it in his congressional campaign, I realized that if someone had overheard what was said that day in the stairwell, the same thing could have happened to you. That was never, ever my intent. I would have NEVER told anyone at the school. The things you were doing to me were awful, but I wouldn't have outed you. I still won't. I'm sorry for what we did on the stairs. My goal really was to let you know that you weren't alone. It wasn't to terrify you that I would out you."

Dave nodded, trying to listen to Kurt's point of view. "I really am sorry for all the awful things I did. I'm sure you hated me, but you couldn't possibly have hated me anymore than I hated myself. It's still a constant struggle. My mom is like the leader of the anti-gay group at our church. I have to sit and listen to her and her friends bash parents of openly gay kids for not being better parents and correcting their children's deviant behavior. And how gays are ruining the country. And on and on. My mother hates me. She doesn't know that she hates me. But every act of kindness feels so hollow because I know that if she knew, she wouldn't even speak to me, except to berate me and quote Bible verses and talk about how I can be cured. I turned 18 about a month ago, so she can't force me into conversion therapy anymore. So, that is a weight off my mind."

"I don't even know what to say to that. I wish people weren't like that. As long as I can remember, I've struggled with people who teach hatred instead of love when the main prophet or teacher of their religion taught that the most important thing was to love God and love your neighbor. I can't reconcile the teachings and the followers' actions. I quit trying."

"I get that."

Kurt put his empty glass on the bar. "I'm going to go dance for a while."

Dave just nodded.

Kurt moved back out into the crowd where Sebastian and Sam were dancing and wiggled his way in between the two of them causing them both to laugh at him.

Kurt caught sight of Nick, Jeff, Flint, and Thad and waved them over. Jeff, Flint, and Thad joined them while Nick went up to the bar and sat where Kurt had been sitting. Sebastian made his way over to the bar and got Dave and Nick to follow him to a booth that had just been vacated. Nick and Dave slid in on opposite sides of the table. Sebastian went back and grabbed the other guys and brought them back.

Sam was a bit taken aback to see Dave, who was also surprised to see Sam. Kurt slid into the booth next to Dave, pulling Sam in next to him. Sebastian squeezed in on the end. Jeff, Thad, and Flint slid in on the other side.

"Okay, introductions. I know some of you know each other. But only Kurt knows everyone."

They went around the table starting with Nick and said their names.

"So, if we want to keep our booth at least one of us will have to sit here throughout the evening. We'll just take turns. Nick and Dave can go first since they're on the ends."

Everyone nodded and got up, except Nick and Dave.

Sebastian pulled Kurt to dance with him. "You already knew Bear Cub. Explain."

"I'd rather not. At least not here. I'll tell you later."

"Alright."

Sam cut in and took Kurt away from Sebastian, laughing at him. This went on all evening. Kurt got snatched from every dance partner. And everyone managed to keep any strangers from getting anywhere near him, other than letting a few girls that wanted to dance with him have a chance.

Kurt took a third turn at the table. By then, they'd been there a couple of hours. He plopped into the booth and Sam joined him, sitting next to him.

"So, whose idea was it to keep me away from the big bad gay guys?"

"That was my idea. I didn't figure you'd appreciate anyone that you didn't know putting their hands on you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, who invited Dave or was he just here and came over here because you did?"

"I guess Sebastian invited him. He planned the whole thing and he already had a nickname for him. They must have met somewhere else at some point in time."

"I'm going to get someone to take my place while I go to the bathroom," Sam said.

"Okay."

Just a minute later, Dave came over and slid in next to Kurt.

"Look, Dave. I know I told you I won't tell anyone, but Sam knows part of what went on last year because he was part of it. Sebastian knows that someone threatened to kill me last year because I learned something that the person didn't want me to know. I never said WHAT it was. But Sebastian already knows that you're gay. It's not going to take long for Sam and Sebastian to piece this together since Sam and I are staying at Sebastian's place tonight. We're driving on to Kentucky tomorrow to see Sam's family. They're going to talk to each other."

"Can Sam keep his mouth shut?"

"Absolutely. He knows secrets of mine that he's not told anyone."

"Fine. Then you tell Sam, but make sure he knows not to tell anyone."

"He won't."

Dave slid back out because Sam was back and he headed toward the pool tables.

"That was quick."

"No line, surprisingly."

"I need to tell you something. Scoot closer."

Sam slid so that he was right next to Kurt.

Kurt blocked his mouth from view with his hand and spoke directly into Sam's ear. "You cannot tell anyone what I am going to tell you."

Sam nodded.

"Dave's gay."

Sam turned and spoke directly into Kurt's ear. "I figured that out last year."

"You knew?"

Sam nodded.

Dave came back to the table, obviously waiting to find out Sam's reaction. He slid into the other side.

"Dude, don't worry about it. I've known since last year. I didn't say anything then. I still won't say anything."

Dave nodded and got back up.

"How did you know?"

"I saw Santana watching him. I saw him looking at me out of the corner of my eye, but I caught her with an 'aha!' look on her face followed by a flip of the Cheerio skirt and her flouncing off. She caught him looking at my ass when I was leaned over getting a drink out of the water fountain. Two days later, Dave was reciting a scripted apology to the Glee Club and she dumped me for him without even breaking up with me."

"Ouch. I heard about the apology, but I didn't know she just announced they were a couple without calling it off with you first. That's low."

"I had already figured out I was her beard. She was over-the-top hanging on me and all possessive acting in public, but in private she was all hands off. She had given men up already, but just wasn't ready for anyone to know. They became each other's beards. It was fine with me. No love lost. She conscripted me. She's too scary to cross - obviously. She had the ability to get him to wear that stupid beret and shiny red jacket. Only something equal to the fear of God could make him wear something like that. I knew for sure that she knew something big on him then because there wouldn't be much that would be enough to make him dress like that."

Kurt laughed. "What do you mean that she conscripted you?"

"She figured out that Quinn was lying about kissing Finn. She came to me all bold and in my face and told me so. She basically said that I was going to be her next boyfriend, and then I was her boyfriend. And that was that. Kissing her beat whatever she might do to me if I refused. I just went along with it. Being single in Glee sucks. Last year was just insane period."

"And yet, you wanted to come back and join the insanity. What does that say about you?" Kurt elbowed him.

"That I'm as crazy as you are." He shoulder bumped Kurt. Kurt had an "aha!" moment of his own. Sam treated him like one of the guys. He actually always had. Kurt just had never thought about it that way. He had never minded Sam touching him because Sam had never hurt him. He couldn't let himself be part of the bumping and shoving with the other guys because they had actually shoved him or bumped into him with the intent to hurt him. But Kurt shoved Sam. He'd done it in the Navigator before they got out at Sebastian's. He'd done it plenty of times.

"What are you thinking about so intently?" Sam asked.

"You."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You and the physicality of guys in general. Matt's been teaching me stuff and part of what he's had me do is observe. I've become an anthropologist studying the human male species."

Sam gave Kurt a perplexed look.

"I'll explain it later when it's not so noisy."

"Okay."

They switched places with Flint and Thad. Eventually it got late enough that everyone had to head out. They said their goodbyes outside the building and everyone left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The three of them got in the Navigator.

Kurt started to speak immediately. "Before you apologize, I know you didn't know. It's fine. He and I worked things out before I went back to McKinley."

"I'm still sorry. I should have told you that I had invited someone else."

"Really, I'm not upset. He's not a threat to me anymore. We don't even go to the same school anymore. After the prom fiasco, he started at a new school this year."

"I knew he had changed schools, but I don't know what the prom fiasco is."

Sam spoke up. "Dave was crowned Prom King and Kurt was crowned Prom Queen."

"Whichever adult allowed that to happen should have been fired," Sebastian stated emphatically.

"That would be our principal," Kurt said.

"Your principal?"

"Our principal," Sam repeated.

"I swear I've been dropped down a rabbit hole."

"Perhaps," Kurt said.

"Could be," Sam said. "Kurt's the white rabbit though."

"I agree. Dresses fancy. Always scurrying from here to there trying to keep so many things going at once."

Kurt pushed Sebastian, but only slightly since he was driving. There – he noticed it again. He was openly touching Sebastian and always had. He refocused. "Then who is everyone else?"

"Sam's the Mad Hatter of course."

"Whatever you say, Alice," Sam teased.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sam was in the shower, Kurt brought the topic of Dave up. "Sam knows it was Dave who threatened me. He also figured out why last year. I didn't know that part until tonight. He kept Dave's secret to himself. He doesn't know about Dave's mom's belief about gays needing to go to conversion camps."

"Okay. I know you said not to apologize, but I am sorry for at least not telling you I had invited someone else."

"You already apologized. Do you want me to hug you to prove that there's nothing to forgive and that I'm not mad?" Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian and hugged him. "There. All resolved."

"You're crazy."

"We've been over this. You agreed to be my friend, so what does that make you?"

"Well, you are pretty persistent. All that bear hugging and being nice to me."

"Wait, what?" Sam said as he came back into the room. "You gave him bear hugs? I didn't get any bear hugs and I've known you a lot longer."

"You got cookies, remember?"

"Wait, he got cookies? Like homemade cookies?"

"You two are nuts." Kurt turned to Sam and bear hugged him. "There. Now you've had your bear hug." He turned to Sebastian. "You'll have to wait until I'm back home to make you cookies, Sebastian. Once you get the cookies, no more complaints."

Sebastian wiggles his eyebrows. "There's a kitchen right downstairs."

"You want me to make cookies at midnight?"

"Yes?" he answered, eyebrows up, and nodding quickly.

"Do you even have the ingredients to make cookies?"

"How would I know? I avoid coming here as much as possible."

"How about you come to Lima and stay with us and I'll make you cookies? I'm too nervous here. If I broke something, it could cause a lot of problems."

"Fine. Raincheck on the cookies. You can make them when I come to watch your sectionals."

Kurt nudged him. "You know the flack I'm going to take for being friends with you?" Kurt asked.

"Hey, you're the one that kept being nice to me until you wore the gruffness off. You and Jeff. You're relentless. Once he wore me down, he ratted me out to the others – Nick, Thad, Flint, David, and Trent."

"You're so crazy."

"You are a crazy attracter," Sam said.

"No, I'm just crazy attractive," he said with his nose up in the air feigning haughtiness.

"Well, that too," Sebastian agreed with him.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "We need to sleep. This is getting out of control. Who's sleeping where?"

"You're the smallest. You go in the middle," Sebastian said as he pushed Kurt toward the bed.

"Fine." Kurt got in the middle of the bed and lay down.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sam left at 7:00 the next morning to drive to Cincinnati. They stopped for breakfast on the way, but still arrived about 15 minutes early. Kurt told Sam it was fine to leave him and head on to Kentucky. They had agreed that Sam would pick him back up around 3:00 and he'd call to get the location around 2:30.

Kurt sat on the stoop and waited for Trevor, who arrived about 10 minutes later. Kurt stood up and walked toward the parking lot when Trevor pulled in.

"Where's your SUV?"

"My friend came with me and drove over to Kentucky to see his parents and his little brother and sister."

"Cool." He unlocked the door and they went up and worked on strengthening Kurt's low range and getting him more comfortable singing in that range. Trevor brought some duets that had been arranged as baritone/tenor duets for Kurt to work on sight singing. They sang together and worked on them. Kurt told him about his "Under Pressure" duet he was working on with Sam.

"That's actually a really good idea. The song isn't actually in your low range, but everyone knows it was sung by a guy, so the association with you only singing girl's songs isn't there. Get someone to record it so I can see it."

"Sure."

They worked on sight singing more for the rest of the hour. Trevor left a couple minutes before 10:00

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt came in at 10:05. "Oh, good. You're here. I pulled up outside and your SUV isn't in the parking lot. I called, but of course it went to voice mail because you were up here singing. I should have just come up and I would have been able to hear you singing. So, did you get a different car?"

Kurt explained where the Navigator was.

He placed a stack of stuff on top of the piano. "I brought some things to work on and a short two-person play for you to memorize for next week. That way we can work on things without you always looking at a paper, which distracts you from being able to actually act out a scene."

He handed Kurt a copy of the play, which was only 5 pages long.

"Alright. I'll have more time this week with it being Thanksgiving. Only two days of school." He sat it down on top of his satchel.

"How are rehearsals for Sectionals going?"

"Really well. Everyone's been supportive of me singing the lead. I think our choir director is more surprised than any of the students."

"I'm just glad you're getting a chance to be featured."

"Me too."

Matt handed him some other sheets of paper. "Let's start with these."

After an hour of working on everything, Matt asked, "So, what are you doing after we finish?"

"Honestly, I was hoping you could drop me off somewhere like a Starbucks or someplace Sam can find easily so he can pick me up about 3:00."

"You're planning to stay that long?"

"Well, he hasn't seen his family in three and a half weeks, so I figured he'd want to stay for at least four or five hours. It's a two and a half our drive each way."

"Of course. It wouldn't make sense to do that much driving and only see them for an hour or something."

"He's really close to his little brother and sister. He misses them a lot."

"Well, do you want to come back to my place?" Matt stacked everything back up and put it in his bag.

"I don't want to bother you."

"Kurt, you're not a bother."

"Alright, if you're sure."

"Try that again, with more confidence. Kurt, you're not a bother."

"Thank you, I'd love to come," he said confidently.

"Much better, even though I know you were pretending."

Kurt laughed.

"Between you and Sam and Sebastian, my self-esteem is sure to rise at some point."

"Who's Sebastian?"

"He's a recently-made friend. He's the one that hit me with a dose of reality and made me realize that I needed to do something to improve my chances of getting the future I wanted for myself. I told him it was the meanest nice thing or the nicest mean thing anyone had ever done to me."

"So, something he said made you call and set up the appointment with me?"

"Exactly."

"I'll have to send him a thank you card."

Kurt looked perplexed.

"Come on. Let's go to my apartment. People will be getting here soon to use this room for church."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, I figured out something this weekend," Kurt said once they were sitting in Matt's living room on the sofa.

"What's that?"

"Remember when you asked me about five differences between my behavior and Mike's and I said he knew some unspoken bro code that I didn't know?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I figured out that I do actually know this bro code, I just didn't have anyone to interact with that I felt comfortable with. Since Sam has been back and I've been spending time with Sebastian, I realized that I do those things instinctually, but only with the two of them. Neither one of them has ever hurt me. The guys at school, other than Mike himself who never participate, but didn't intervene, have all been a part of the physical bullying. Locker slams, dumpster dives, swirlies, throwing slushies at me – and other stuff."

"Wow, when you answered yes to having been bullied, I just thought of name-calling, but you've been assaulted."

"I spent that time at a different school last year because one of the bullies threatened to kill me."

"Oh, my God, Kurt." Matt looked stricken. "That's terrible."

"Teachers saw these things happen to me and they did nothing. So, my faith in anyone actually wanting to do anything to help me is pretty slim."

"And then teachers bully you themselves with their effeminophobia and condescending attitudes."

"Right." Kurt nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you have two people who aren't like that."

"Four people – you and Trevor don't treat me that way either. And the guys in Glee stopped a couple of years ago." Kurt changed the subject. "How are the rehearsals for the winter program going?"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt and Kurt went out to lunch around 1:00 and hung out at an easy-to-find mall on the north side of Cincinnati until Sam came. They walked through the mall talking.

"You don't have to wait with me if you have other things to do."

"I could go home and write more on the paper I'm working on, but doing something else for a while sometimes helps. Then when I sit back down and read through it, I can either keep going with the direction I was headed or realize that I need to change something. Sometimes when I work at it for too long, I get too detailed and forget the big picture and end up only having explained one of my three points and I've already exceeded the allowed length of the paper."

"I do that," Kurt laughed. "I get too many references and sources, and I try to stuff them all in."

"Yep. Compare and contrast essays always get me because I notice so many things."

"I have the same problem. A test will say, 'Name the difference between the book and the movie.' and I'm like there were like a hundred. There is not enough room on this back of this test to write them all out."

Matt laughed. "That is SO me. My teachers would write, 'Good eye for detail, Matthew. At least I know you read the book.' Sometimes I wonder if they even read what I wrote or just saw my name on the page and said, 'Dear God, not today.' and just gave me full marks on the essay."

"That's funny. I have one teacher who gets a lot of his test questions from the footnotes in our textbook."

"Ugh. Power trip much?"

"I know. Students ask and he says, 'It was in the book - it's fair game for the test.'"

"I'm not convinced the teachers at your school should be teaching."

"You and me both." Kurt shook his head in disbelief thinking of some of the ridiculous stuff that went on at McKinley.

They continued to walk around and talk until Sam texted that he was in the parking lot. They headed to the exit closest to where Sam was.

"See you next week. Thanks for keeping me company. I had a good time," Kurt said as Sam pulled over. He got in and waved as he and Sam drove off.

Sam talked about his visit pretty much all the way back to Lima. They got back just in time for dinner.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, how was the club you two went to?" Burt asked as he started to eat.

Kurt answered first. "It was a little loud for my taste, but it was fun and clean and there weren't people who were sloppy drunk behaving badly." He started eating as well.

Sam added, "It had some colored lights, a disco ball, strobe lights, but not all at once. There were pool tables and dartboards in the back room. We danced, sat around talking, and then danced more. Four other Warblers came and met us there."

"They gay too, like Sebastian?"

Kurt answered. "No idea. If they are, they've never said so publicly when I was there. But none of them are prejudiced. They all danced with me and with each other and with some of the girls. We all did. None of us danced with guys that weren't in our group. We didn't go to pick up future dates. We just went to dance and have fun. There's no place in Lima where a group of guys could go out dancing together."

"So, none of you were drinking?" Burt looked him square in the eyes.

"Nope." Kurt assured him. "None of the Warblers or me or Sam were drinking."

Sam noticed that Kurt intentionally left out mentioning Dave's presence.

"Sounds like an interesting place. Too bad it's so far away."

"I know," Kurt said.

Burt turned to Sam and asked, "So, what's the verdict for Thanksgiving, Sam? Your family going to be able to drive up here and eat with all of us?"

"Yeah. They were excited about it, especially Stacey. Sam imitated Stacey's voice. 'Kurt will fix my hair like a princess, won't he? Do you think he would like this dress or this one better?'"

Kurt laughed.

"She has the biggest crush on you. One day I'm going to have to explain to her that you are just too much older than her to marry her. I'm going to have to break my little sister's heart."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "She's adorable and I hope you told her that she looks equally beautiful in all of her dresses."

"I did, but she insisted on me telling her whether you liked green or red better. I know neither one is your favorite color, and I didn't really know the answer, so I told her to wear the green one for Thanksgiving, and to save the red one for Christmas."

"Good call," Kurt laughed. "And I will most certainly fix her hair like a princess. We should go to Goodwill and see if we can find a crown or something we can turn into a crown."

"She'd love that."

"Where are Finn and Carole?" Sam asked.

"She left this stuff for dinner for us and she and Finn went to some family thing in Akron. They'll be back later."

The three of them finished eating. Sam and Kurt cleared the table and washed the dishes. Afterwards, Sam went up to his room to finish his schoolwork. Kurt stayed downstairs to talk to Burt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt found Burt in the living room sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.

"Hey, Dad. Can we talk for a bit?"

"Yeah, sure." He folded the paper up and put it on the table next to the couch.

"I want to invite Sebastian to come spend time here sometimes. He and his father don't get along and I'd like him to have a place where he feels like he can relax."

"Why don't they get along?"

Kurt sat down on the other end of the couch and rotated part of the way so he could face Burt. "His father wants him to be straight and be a conservative Republican like he is."

"What's Sebastian's last name?"

"Smythe."

"He's Robert's son, isn't he?"

"I don't honestly know his father's first name. He just calls him 'my father.'"

"You said he's a politician and lives in Columbus."

"Yes."

"I bet it's him then. If so, we've met. Not a fan." Burt had an unpleasant expression on his face.

"I would bet not."

"By comfortable here, what do you mean?" Burt's eyes narrowed a bit.

"I mean, he comes here, has free reign like Sam and Puck, and he stays in my room in my bed, like any friend that Finn has over."

"Kurt…"

"Dad, just stop. You were out of line about Blaine. Or if you really believe what you implied, then I won't be comfortable in my own home anymore."

"What do you mean?" Burt was confused.

"If you actually believe that I have no morals whatsoever and that I would take advantage of a drunk person, then you don't know me very well and I won't feel comfortable living here with you thinking that I'm some sort of perverted predator."

Burt's eyes flashed in a panic. "Oh, God, Kurt, I never thought that."

"Well, that's how it came across. I chose not to take it that way, but I certainly could have. I'm still not sure what was so inappropriate about what I did, so I just opted to never ask anyone over again until now. I did actually appreciate the talk you gave me. I really did think about what you said, and it made a difference – a big difference."

"I'm not sure that I like that it made a big difference. I mean, of course I'm glad you listened, but not glad that you needed to listen from the sense I'm getting from you."

"That's not the current issue. We were talking about what was inappropriate that time."

"I was out of line with what I said. What was actually inappropriate was that he drank himself into a stupor, not the fact that you took care of him. What actually happened that night?"

"He drank way too much. He made out with Rachel during Spin the Bottle. And then they sang flirty duets. He went out with her on that date a few days later. He knew that I liked him, but he was more willing to give her a chance than me."

"Why did you…?" Burt stalled for an ending to his question.

Kurt provided one. "Keep liking him? Keep holding out hope that he would like me?"

"Yeah."

"I shouldn't have. Honestly. He's not boyfriend material. But, God, Dad I was lonely – really lonely. He and I met when I was at my lowest and the bullying was at its highest. He was the first gay guy my age that I had met. He was out and proud, and honestly he led me on. We went out on a ton of coffee dates that I thought were real dates and he thought were just friendly outings. The thing was that particular event wasn't even the first soul-crushing thing that he had done."

"What do you mean?"

"All along, I thought he liked me, but that he just didn't have the nerve to make it official. There were all of the one-on-one coffee dates. He'd put his hands on my shoulders when he stood behind me and I was sitting in chair. He'd put his hand on my leg when he sat next to me. He asked me to sing flirty duets. He sat really close to me on the couches in the rehearsal room. He didn't do these things with anyone else. I made sure that I wasn't imagining things because I had never had anyone flirt with me. So all of that went on for months. I honestly thought we were dating, just the casual type dating. I didn't even realize that he wasn't into me, and that he didn't like as more than a friend, until Valentine's Day when he announced in front of all of the Warblers that he was 'in love' with the assistant manager of the nearby GAP, and he asked us to help him serenade the guy."

"What?" Burt's eyes narrowed and he tipped his head slightly, questioning what Kurt had said.

"Yeah. I knew that he was planning to serenade someone because he had asked me what I thought of the idea. I thought it was one of those not-really-hypothetical questions when someone is trying to figure out what someone else likes or doesn't like. Since I thought that he was planning to serenade me and make it official, like boyfriend official instead of just casual dating like I thought we were doing, I told him that I thought it would be romantic. But then he did what I said – in front of all of the Warblers, which was really embarrassing because most of them had figured out that I had a huge crush on him."

"Wow. I never liked him much, but tried to be decent for your sake. But if I had known those things, I'm not sure I could have managed to be so decent."

"When he crashed and burned with the GAP guy, I still held out that he would realize that he did like me because I hadn't gotten over my crush on him. I was lonely at Dalton too. I never managed to make myself fit in very well there either. The truth is that if I had spent less time pining over him that I probably could have made some closer friends, but he was the only 'out and proud' guy. You told me not to pursue guys who weren't as brave as me."

"When did I say that?" his eyes flickered upward and to the side trying to recall when he had said such a thing.

"When I wanted to sing with Sam. When you asked me if he played for my team and I told you that I didn't know. You said that until I found someone as open and brave as me, I was going to have to get used to going it alone. And then a month later, I met Blaine." He could no longer restrain himself from fidgeting and started rubbing his thumb up and down along the calf seam of his jeans. "It was like this billboard saying 'you don't have to go it alone anymore'." He put his hands together, splayed them open, and spread them apart in front of his face as he said "billboard". "He flirted, asked me out, and he liked a lot of the same things that I liked. It was unbelievably fantastic."

"I see." Burt's voice changed to very sympathetic. "And I understand about Blaine. I sometimes really have to think harder. I mean if I had been 17 before I ever met a girl, it would have been really hard not to fall for her just because she was there. And that's really what you dealt with. A lot of horrible stuff was happening to you and you met a gay guy who flirted with you. I realize that would have been hard to just ignore and keep your feelings in check. You needed a friend and he seemed to offer that and more. And what I said about leaving Sam alone was out of line too. He's a good friend to you. If you had made friends with him in that month interim, you wouldn't have been so desperate for a friend anymore and maybe you could have seen Blaine's true nature more clearly."

"Maybe, but back to what we were talking about. I was confused when you got so upset with me. I couldn't figure out what was inappropriate about keeping a drunk teen off the road and keeping him where I could hear him if he puked. You acted like you didn't want me having guys over or to actually even have any guy friends, so I didn't bother trying again."

"I didn't know you hadn't had anyone over because of what I said. I'm sorry I made you feel so bad that you quit trying to have friends."

"What I want to know now is if I can actually make friends with guys and you're going to let them hang out with me here the way you let Puck hang out with Finn."

"It's not the same."

"Dad. Get. Over. It." Kurt over enunciated each word.

"What?"

"Get over whatever it is. Stop treating me like I'm a girl. I'm a guy. A man, technically, since I'm 18. I deserve to have male friends just as much as Finn does."

Burt just listened.

"Sam and I both slept in Sebastian's bed last night and no one touched anyone other than potentially by accident while sleeping. The bed was to sleep in, not have a threesome in."

"Kurt…" he took the "dad" tone of voice again.

"I'm an 18-year old virgin, who doesn't even watch porn. So, can you lighten up a bit? It was a joke. None of us wanted to sleep on the floor. It's a bed, Dad. People sleep in them. If he comes here, I don't want you being all 'Door open.' and acting like I'm running a brothel in my room when you're not looking."

Burt took a deep breath. "You're right. I can see your point, but that's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then what is the issue? You need to be really specific this time. Don't just use words like 'inappropriate'. What is your issue with guys staying with me?"

"What they might try to do to you."

"Oh. You thought that Blaine might try to take advantage of me?" That thought had never really crossed Kurt's mind because he was passed-out drunk.

"Or some other guy. You trust more easily than I do. I've been around longer and know more about people. I let you go to Sebastian's because Sam was with you and I know Sam now and I trust Sam to protect you."

"Dad, I'm a man. Why do I need someone to protect me?" He was sick of being treated like a girl.

"You're so small."

Kurt's tone changed to aggravated and he slapped his hand on his thigh. "Dad, have you actually looked at me lately? Sam's not even two inches taller than me and maybe weighs 20 pounds more."

"But he lifts weights and he's stronger than you."

"Well, I'll grant you that, but I can hold my own." Kurt was adamant.

"You don't know that."

"I actually do," he said quite assuredly.

"Combining that with what you said earlier leaves me with the impression there's something you haven't told me. Why did you break it off with Blaine and don't beat around the bush this time. You and Blaine never…?"

"Nope."

"And you broke up with him a month ago?"

"That's right."

"And you're not getting back together?"

"Nope, never." He shook his head and gave Burt the 'never gonna happen' look.

"And this has something to do with self-respect?"

"It does."

"Well, I'm glad you made a decision that you can respect yourself about. It sounds like it was a year long struggle to regain your self-respect from being torn down by the bullies, and then you were torn apart by someone toying with your feelings."

"That's a pretty accurate description. So, my male friends are welcome here, like Finn's?"

"Yes."

Kurt jumped up and wrapped his arms around Burt's neck. "Thank you!"

"Your friends are welcome, even your Warbler friends."

Kurt sat back down, this time in the center of the couch facing Burt. "So, you'll be nice to them, even if they are more like me and less like you?"

"You said they weren't gay."

"I said I don't know if they're gay. You've still got a ways to go, Dad. Your Lima background still shows through. Just keep reminding yourself that gay guys are NOT girls with..." He didn't finish his sentence and started again. "Gay guys are just guys who are attracted to guys. There are gay football players, gay musicians, gay doctors, gay lawyers, gay teachers, and I'm sure there are gay mechanics because I'm one of them. Not all gay guys like musicals and fashion. Just like not all girls like wearing make up and dresses. You have too many stereotypes in your mind still. It's time to let them go."

"You're right. You're the only gay person I know well and I base what I know about being gay on you."

"Which is sort of like me basing all straight men on Puck."

Burt laughed and nodded in understanding.

"Just picking one person as a representative of a whole group rarely turns out to be very accurate."

"I'll work on it. I promise."

"Some gay guys have families that disown them if they come out. Being rich doesn't change that. I have my suspicions about a couple of the Warblers, but I would never ask. I don't do that to people. So, all I can tell you about them is that if any of them are gay, they're in the closet, where they'll stay until they feel safe to come out, which would probably be after college for guys who are expected to go to Ivy League schools like their fathers did."

"Alright. I get it. Do you like Sebastian?"

"What, like romantically? Not that I couldn't, but he's going back to France at the end of May. Getting romantically involved with someone who's leaving the country in six months isn't a good idea."

"Well, he's welcome and any of the other guys you want to have over. I've been unfair to you and I need to stop. It wasn't my place to say that you can only have female friends and that's how I made you feel. I'm sorry."

"There's one more thing I need to tell you," he said with trepidation.

"What's that?"

"I rejoined the Cheerios."

Burt's reaction was apoplectic. "With that insane woman in charge?"

"I needed another extra-curricular activity for my CV for college. It's not like I have a lot of options. I'm pretty sure the God Squad isn't recruiting atheists these days. And unlike Rachel, I can't just make myself welcome in any group by showing up wearing short skirts and bearing plates of cookies."

"What?" he asked, clearly not understanding what Kurt meant.

"The other after-school clubs don't want the school fag to join them."

"Oh." He sighed heavily.

"So, it was the Cheerios or nothing. Coach Sue and I have negotiated the terms of my participation. She clearly wanted me to rejoin because she consented to all of my terms and I only had to give in to one of hers."

"Which was?" he asked hesitantly.

"To carry the Cheerios backpack."

"Weird."

"It's in a box in the garage. I'm searching every last centimeter of the thing before I'm using it. If I could find someone to x-ray it, I would. I think I'll soak it overnight before I start to use it."

"You think she bugged it?"

"Who knows? Why was the backpack the hill she was willing to die on? Just seemed weird. She could have done it just to drive me crazy by making me wonder what's in the backpack. I wouldn't put it past her. She thrives on fear and unease."

He nodded in understanding after having dealt with her during the campaign.

"I've need to go double-check that I finished everything that's due tomorrow. I'm going to invite Sebastian over too. Thanks, Dad."

He hopped up, leaned over and hugged Burt again, and took off for his room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After cleaning the kitchen after dinner Monday evening, Kurt went to Finn's room to talk to him. He knocked on the door.

"Come in, Kurt."

"Hey, Finn. I need to talk to you." He stood in the doorway, not going into the room itself.

"Um, yeah. Sure. Just a sec." Finn found something to stick in the textbook he was reading. "Not that I ever remember what I read in that book, but I do read it."

"That's good."

"So, what did you want?"

"Right. So, I came to tell you that I'm going to start having my friends over to the house sometimes too."

"Your friends are my friends too, so I don't understand why you're telling me this."

"No, Finn. My own friends. Ones you don't know."

"You have other friends?"

"I do. I just never invited them here."

"Oh. Alright. Why is this a problem for me?"

"They go to Dalton."

"Oh. Rachel."

"Exactly. Think about this, okay? You meet some guys playing basketball down at the park. You start actually setting up times to play with them. You make friends with them. You invite them over and then realize that they play basketball for whoever our rivals are."

"Thurston."

"Fine. They play for Thurston. Do you stop being friends with them and inviting them over just because they're on the rival team?"

"Nah. We're just going to play video games and watch movies or TV or something."

"Exactly. My friends are Warblers. We'll do things we like to do, but it won't involve me giving away our set list or anything."

"I think I get it. I'll just avoid telling Rachel that they're Warblers."

"She'll figure it out. Just remember that this is my home not hers. She can't dictate who I am friends with or who I invite over."

"Got it."

"You don't have to get to know them or anything. I just wanted you to know that there are going to be people around. I'm done being on my own all the time."

"You have Glee Club." Finn sounded thoroughly confused by Kurt's statement.

Kurt crossed his arms. "How many of them intentionally spend time with me?"

"You used to hang out with the girls."

"Well, that leaves Tina to hang out with since Quinn never spent time with me, and Tina's busy with Mike a lot of the time. And Rachel's not exactly at the top of my list of favorite people right now. I do want to ask her something the next time she's over though."

"Sure, whatever."

"That's it. I gotta do my reading too."

Finn picked his book back up and Kurt went back to his room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After dinner on Tuesday, Kurt had his chance to speak to Rachel since she stayed for dinner. It went about as badly as he had anticipated that it would. She confirmed what Sebastian had told him, but acted like their efforts to better their acting were perfectly legitimate. He did not tell her where he had gotten his information or what Blaine had done to him.

He refocused his mind by spending the rest of the evening memorizing the script that Matt had given him to learn.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Wednesday morning, Kurt knocked on Sam's door and got a groan for a response. He opened the door, assuming that the groan meant "come in." He walked over to Sam's bed and plopped on it and lay back.

"This is not you helping me bake."

Sam opened his eyes. "Baking. Right. I'm awake. Mostly."

"There's coffee downstairs. I already made blueberry muffins."

"What time is it?"

"8:00."

"You 'slept in' and already made a batch of muffins by 8:00? I think we need to revisit what the phrase 'sleep in' means."

"I slept until 7:00. That's an hour later than normal."

"I suppose… But I was thinking of sleeping in until like 10:00."

"Oh."

"It's okay. I should have been more specific. I'll come help. Do I have to get dressed to do it?"

"Nope. It's just me and you here. Well, Finn's asleep, but that doesn't count because as soon as he gets up, he's going to Puck's. I'm sure he'll try to take at least some of what we make before he leaves."

"Alright. Get off my covers so I can get up."

Kurt hopped up.

"Lead the way, oh cheerful one."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Three hours later, there was a pie in the oven, a cake on the counter, a cheesecake in the fridge, and 6 dozen cookies in containers.

"So, more desserts or move on to vegetable chopping?"

Kurt held up both hands and started naming people and counting. "I count 12 people, but Rachel won't eat any of these desserts because they aren't vegan."

"Are we making anything for her?"

"Nope. She can bring her own dessert if she wants one."

"You're still mad at her." He sat down on a stool at the island.

"I am." He said adamantly.

"There's a newer reason..."

"There is." Kurt moved to the island and sat down as well.

"And it is…"

"Something that would make you want to punch more people."

Sam crossed his arms. "I'm going to make you a shirt that says, 'Protected by Sam Evans.'"

Kurt laughed. "Are you my bodyguard now?"

"No. I'm your friend. Do these other people lack the intelligence to understand what that means?"

"Well, I didn't know what it really meant. Maybe you're the one who's weird. Maybe everyone treats their friends like the people at McKinley."

"That's a depressing statement. I hope not. Are you going to tell me what she did or shall I just shun her in deference to you being angry with her?"

"Grudge by proxy?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that." Sam nodded once, indicating it was a done deal.

"Well, then you'll have to be mad at Artie too."

"I can do that."

Kurt laughed. He got up and hugged Sam. "Thank you."

"For what?" Sam hugged back.

"Just being you."

"Well, you're welcome, I guess."

"So, vegetables?" Kurt opened the fridge and started grabbing the vegetables.

"Yes. Vegetables." Sam took them from him and piled them next to the sink to wash them.

By the time Carole came home from work, the raw veggie tray, the salad, and the vegetables that were going to be cooked, as well as the potatoes, were prepped.

She came in the kitchen after she hung up her coat. "Well, you two have been busy. It doesn't look like there's much left for me to do."

The two of them were sitting at the island again, drinking ice tea, snacking on the bits and pieces of raw veggies they didn't use for the tray, and talking.

"Well, you like to make the biscuits, so we left those for you. And I know you have a special way to make the dressing, so that needs done still," Kurt said.

"And we didn't cook any of the vegetables, just prepped them to be cooked tomorrow or whenever," Sam pointed out.

"Well, you two were a big help. I had looked forward to doing it with you, but when Sherry called out, I had to go in."

"It got done and that's the important part," Kurt said. "Oh, and as an act of intolerance and willful insolence on my part, I didn't make any vegan desserts."

"I think there's the soy ice cream that she keeps here in the downstairs freezer, if she wants it."

"Works for me," Kurt said.

Carole looked at Sam with a questioning expression when Kurt had his back turned to her. Sam shrugged when Kurt turned the other direction to put his glass in the dishwasher.

She handed them a $20 bill. "You two can order in or go out for dinner tonight. And I'll guard the desserts from any bottomless pit teenagers or sneaky middle-aged men that might show up attempting to gain early access."

"Thanks," Kurt said.

"Yeah, thanks!"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, in or out?" Kurt asked as they walked up the stairs.

"Let's go out."

"Where?"

"Someplace we've never been, like that Korean place out on the edge of town."

"You pick, but you might want to wear clothes if we're going out." Kurt laughed as he walked past Sam's door to his own room to put his shoes on.

"Right." A couple of minutes later, Sam came down to Kurt's room wearing clothes instead of his pajamas. He sat on Kurt's chair and put his shoes on. "Let's go."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Here try this." Kurt stuck his fork out and Sam ate the bite of chicken.

"Ooh. That's spicy, but it's good. Try this one," he said, offering Kurt a bite of the dish he was eating.

"Sweet, but still spicy, but not as spicy as this one."

"I have no idea what's in this one, but it's good. Try it." Sam pushed the container towards Kurt, who took a forkful.

"Oh, it's really crunchy. I'm not sure what I expected, but I like it."

Kurt had added $10 of his own money and they had ordered a bunch of different things, mostly just by pointing, not really knowing at all what they ordered. They took one of the to-go menus to the table with them and made notes on it.

"I'm marking this one with a star. I really like it. If we come back, I'll definitely get it again," Kurt said.

"We should find more places like this and come once in a while. Places where the lame loser lowlife students don't go to eat. That way we can enjoy ourselves without interference."

"Good plan because this is fun."

They talked and ate until everything was gone.

"I'm going to be waddling out of here," Kurt said rubbing his stomach.

"It was mostly vegetables though, so it's not so bad."

"I already decided that calories will not be counted this holiday."

"Good because I think you've lost weight you didn't need to lose."

"Watching my figure for me, are you?" Kurt swaggled as they walked across the parking lot.

"I just want you to be healthy and Sue's crazy. And I know I can go overboard on the watching what I eat too. We can watch each other's figures," Sam said.

"We should probably head home before Carole loses the battle of the wills with Dad and Finn and whoever else is there trying to wear her down to let them have 'just a little dessert.'"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt asked Mary to bring the kids in old clothes that didn't matter and to bring their nice clothes with them. When they arrived that morning, Kurt and Sam took Stevie and Stacey to the lake to go on an adventure. Kurt had made up a scavenger hunt with normal things found in the woods – a round rock, a stick, a leaf as big as a hand, and other stuff. They gave each of them a plastic grocery bag and set them loose to start searching. Kurt took a camera and photographed them.

A little before noon, they headed back to the house. They took the kids into Kurt's room and Stacey showered first. Kurt blew her hair dry and then French braided it, while Stevie showered. They both put their nice clothes on.

"Now, both of you sit on the bed for a minute," Sam told them. "And close your eyes after you sit down."

Kurt opened the closet and handed Sam a crown and a sword. He grabbed the other set and closed the door back.

"Alright, open your eyes."

Both of their eyes widened.

Sam spoke, "Steven William Evans, please arise and kneel."

Kurt spoke, "Stacey Renee Evans, please arise and kneel."

Both of them had huge smiles on their faces and did as they had been told. Sam and Kurt placed the crowns on their heads first, and then tapped them lightly on each shoulder with the foam swords.

Sam said, "I dub thee, 'Squire Stevie the Sage'" and placed the sword into Stevie's hands.

Kurt said, "I dub thee, "Princess Stacey the Astute'" and placed the sword into Stacey's hands.

"Be gentle with your subjects and rule kindly." Kurt said to them both.

"Yes, Kurt," Stacey said quietly.

"I will," Stevie said solemnly in his most regal voice.

"Arise, young squire and princess and be on your way," Kurt said solemnly.

Sam whispered, "And don't break anything with the swords."

They both nodded and took of running out of the room. "Mommy, look…" was the last thing they heard as Stevie and Stacey ran down the stairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt managed to steer clear of Rachel the whole afternoon, with a little help from Sam now and then. Everyone enjoyed the meal. Burt, Stevie and the teens moved down to the family room to watch sporting events while the ladies and the Berrys stayed up in the living room talking. Kurt headed to his room.

About 20 minutes later, Kurt heard very faint knocking on his door.

"Come in."

"Kurt, will you play with me? The grown ups are really boring."

"Sure, sweetheart. Would you like to draw or what?"

She pulled a Barbie out from behind her back. "Can we make her a new dress?"

"Sure." Kurt opened his closet and brought out a sewing box. Kurt opened it and took out about 10 pieces of scrap fabric and laid them out on the bed. "Do you like any of these?"

"I like…umm…this purple one and this red one," she said as she pointed.

"Excellent choices." Kurt put the other pieces back in the box. He took out needles and grabbed a spool of thread. "So, today, we can make one slightly fancier dress or two more simple dresses. So, what would Barbie prefer?"

Stacey stood there for a couple of minutes. "How about two simple dresses today and maybe next time I come we can make her a fancier dress."

"That's a good plan. So, does she have a sweater?"

Stacey nodded.

"Perfect. Then we can make her two sleeveless dresses and she can wear them all year round."

Stacey smiled. "Alright. What do we need to do?"

"Well, first we need to take off the dress she's wearing and trace it on to a piece of paper."

Stacey started undressing the doll, while Kurt got a pencil and a piece of paper. Stacey sat at his desk with the dress. He laid the paper down and showed her how to do it carefully.

"Now is when we decide if we want the dress to be any different than the one she's wearing."

"It will already be different 'cause it's a different color."

"Well, that's true, but do you want it to have a fuller skirt or a more narrow skirt or the same style?"

"A twirly skirt like my dress." She got up and spun in a circle. "So she can twirl her dress too."

"Good choice."

She climbed back into the chair. "So how do we make it twirly?"

"Like this." Kurt changed the shape of the skirt on the paper.

"That will make it twirly?"

"It will."

"Cool."

They worked on cutting the fabric out and Kurt told her the reasons behind all of the steps. She watched very carefully as he sewed the tiny hems and added a ribbon to the neck and waist since he didn't have any tiny snaps.

Once he had finished, he handed it to her. "Try it on her and see what she thinks."

Stacey put it on, but needed a little help with the neck.

"I'll be sure and get some small snaps or Velcro for when you come the next time. You can bring it with you and I'll update it with something to make the neck easier to fasten."

"Okay," she said cheerfully. "There. It's on."

"Does she like it?"

Stacey carried the doll and stood it on Kurt's vanity in front of the mirror and she made it spin in a circle. "She loves it. It's her first twirly dress."

"Well, I'm glad she approves. Does she want a second twirly dress or some other type of dress?"

"Definitely another twirly dress."

Kurt thought she would lose interest the second time around, but she watched just as carefully as she had the first time. He finished it and handed it to her. "Does she want to try this one on too?"

"Of course," she said with a tone the implied she couldn't believe Kurt could think anything else. She took the red dress off and put the purple one on. Kurt helped her with the neck again. She stood the doll back in front of the mirror. "She loves this one too. She says, 'You make the best dresses, even better than the store.'"

"Well, that's high praise indeed. Thank you, Barbie."

"She says, 'You're welcome.'"

Kurt put the needles and thread back in the box and put it back in his closet.

"Maybe you could get a Barbie before I come the next time, and my Barbie could play with yours."

"That sounds like a good idea. Sam and I will go shopping for one."

"Sammy doesn't like Barbies."

"Well, I think I can persuade him to come with me anyway."

She said, "Okay…" obviously wondering how Kurt could get her big brother to go shopping for a Barbie.

"Would you like to go downstairs and get a ziplock bag to put the dress Barbie was wearing when she came and her new dress in so they stay clean and don't get lost?"

"That's a good idea," she said. "But first, I'm going to show Mommy."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got to the bottom of the stairs and nearly collided with Sam.

"Mom came downstairs looking for Stacey thinking that she was with me, but she wasn't. I came up thinking that you had gotten to talking with my Carole or something, but you weren't upstairs."

"Well, you found us. We've been busy."

"Look, Sammy. Barbie has two new twirly dresses."

"Oh, wow. Did Kurt make those?"

"He did and he let me pick the fabric and then showed me how to do it. I'm going to go show Mommy." Stacey flounced off to the living room.

Sam stayed standing close to Kurt. "I'm going to have to break her heart one of these days and every time you wow her, it's going to make it just that much harder."

"You goof. She'll grow up soon enough and find some boy her own age to have a crush on."

"None of them will be as cool as you though."

"Come on." Kurt turned Sam and pushed him toward the kitchen. "I told her I would get the Barbie version of a garment bag for her clothing, otherwise known as a ziplock bag."

Stacey came scurrying back to the kitchen. "Mommy loves her dresses too and she reminded me to say 'thank you.'" Stacey wrapped her arms around Kurt.

He leaned over and scooped her up. "You are quite welcome."

"Did you tell Sammy yet?"

"No, I didn't, but I will."

"Tell me what?" Sam stepped closer and tapped her on the nose causing her to laugh.

"That you and I are going to go shopping so that I can have my very own Barbie the next time that Stacey comes so that her Barbie has someone to play with."

"We can do that."

Stacey looked shocked. "But you don't like Barbies."

"But I like you and I like Kurt and I like you two to have fun together, so I will go with him to get a friend for your Barbie to play with when she comes."

"Yay." She fell into Sam and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sam grabbed her from Kurt and carried her. "You're a monkey."

"No, I'm a princess. Kurt said so."

"You're right. You're a princess because Kurt says so. I'm going to put you down and you can be the one who gets to tell everyone they can come have dessert in 10 minutes, okay?"

"Okay," she said cheerfully. She skipped off announcing the news to everyone in the living room before heading down to the family room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt sliced the pumpkin pie, the cheesecake, and the chocolate cake. He got out a rectangular storage container and a piece of parchment paper and cut it into three sections. He carefully wrapped a piece of each dessert in the parchment paper and placed them into the container and put the container in the refrigerator. He grabbed four cookies from the container and put them in a small storage bowl and put it in the cabinet with the canned food.

Sam gave him a puzzled look.

Kurt spoke quietly. "It's for Sebastian. I promised him dessert when he comes tomorrow."

"Ah. Grabbing some before the hordes of locusts decimate everything?"

"Exactly."

"Speaking of locusts…" Kurt said quietly as Finn made sure he was first in line by showing up before the 10 minutes were up.

"It's only been 8 minutes, Finn," Sam said.

"You've been hanging around with Kurt too much."

"Nope, not possible."

"So, Finn, what will it be for you this fine evening?" Kurt asked, standing behind the island that they had set up as the dessert station.

"It? What do you mean 'it'? I want one of everything."

"There are 12 people, Finn. Everyone gets one of something before anyone gets seconds."

"Fine. I'll have pumpkin pie."

Kurt served him a slice and handed it to him. "The whipped cream is right here, if you want some. Save some for everyone else, please."

Everyone else got in line. Sam and Kurt served everyone and they all went back into the dining room and sat around the table enjoying their desserts. Finn was at the back of the line right behind the last person in line.

"Alright, Finn. What would you like next?"

"Cheesecake."

By the time everyone who wanted seconds had been through the line, Finn was back to get a piece of chocolate cake.

After Finn had walked away, Kurt said, "I'll split something with you. You're choice."

Sam put the last slice of cheesecake on a plate and got two forks. They stood in the kitchen and ate it.

"That was good. Really good," Sam said.

"I agree." Kurt picked the glass plate up and put it in the sink carefully. "Can you grab the pie dish?"

"Sure." Sam grabbed it and got a spoon out of the drawer and scooped up the remnants in the dish just to taste it. "That was good too. I've had your chocolate cake before, so I know that's good, and the chocolate chip cookies are always amazing."

"Thanks. From the looks of things, everyone else agrees. There's not much left." Kurt washed what he had in the sink, and then handed each item to Sam to dry and put away.

He got out a storage container and moved the three remaining slices of cake to the container, but left it sit on the island with the lid underneath. He washed the cake stand, and handed it to Sam as well.

The dishwasher had already been run and Kurt noticed it was finished. He opened it and he and Sam put all of the dishes away to make room for all of the small plates that people had used for their desserts. He and Sam went into the dining room and collected everyone's plates and reloaded the dishwasher. While they were in the kitchen cleaning, LeRoy, Hiram, and Rachel had left, which was a relief to Kurt.

Once the dishwasher was reloaded, Kurt went back into the dining room. "Who wants to watch _The Incredibles_ with me?" He intentionally chose something that he could catch Stevie's attention with.

"Me, me, me!" Stacey put her hand up.

"Me too!" Stevie said.

"Me three," Kurt heard Sam say from behind him.

"Well, whoever is watching it with me needs to get their pajamas on and be in Sam's room really soon." Kurt turned and headed for his room quickly.

Stevie and Stacey jumped up and ran to Sam's room to get changed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"You are sneaky, Kurt Hummel."

"Hey, they're asleep on the air mattress where they're supposed to be. No fussing. No 'I'm not tired.' Or 'Read me another story.'"

Sam was lying in Kurt's bed and started to imitate a younger child, "But Kurt, I'm not tired. Read me another story."

Kurt smacked him with a pillow. "Hush. I thought we were going to watch whatever it is that you brought in here."

"We are." He picked up a DVD case off the side shelf. "Here." He handed Kurt the DVD and put the case back on the shelf.

They had already turned the lights off, so Kurt couldn't see what the movie was. He slid the DVD into his laptop and waited for it to load.

"Ooh. _Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon._ Awesome. I didn't know you had gotten to the top of the list at the library."

"I picked it up Tuesday and kept it hidden."

"See, you're just as sneaky as I am."

"Scoot closer and put your leg next to mine. Then you won't have to hold it at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure. I'm 100% sure that you don't have cooties - now scoot closer."

They got everything situated and Kurt started the movie.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt and Sam woke up to the smell of bacon and sausage.

"Mmm. Smells good, but I wanna sleep. Hold still. If you get up, all the heat will leak out," Sam said.

"Fine. I'll lie here until one of the moms comes and gets us or yells for us to come down or your mini-mes come in here and jump on us."

The door flew open and two thwumps could be heard and Stevie jumped on the bed.

"Get up, Sammy. Get up," Stacey insisted, as she stood next to the bed shaking Sam.

Sam fake snored.

"Mommy and Aunt Carole are making bacon."

Sam pretended to snore louder.

"Please get up. She says we can't eat any until you come down and eat with us."

Sam snapped up and grabbed her. She screamed and laughed as he tickled her.

"You're a big faker. Get up or I'm going to steal your bacon off your plate when you aren't looking." She wriggled loose and ran off, with Stevie trailing behind her.

Sam didn't move.

"You're willing to risk your bacon to lie here in bed?" Kurt asked Sam. "Not me. She's a girl of her word. Your bacon is at serious risk." Kurt got up and went around to the other side of the bed. He grabbed Sam's hands and pulled him up to sitting.

Sam took advantage of the situation and reversed the hold and yanked Kurt down onto the bed and started to tickle him the way he had tickled Stacey. After a minute or so, he let him up.

Kurt grabbed the pillow Sam had been sleeping on and whacked him with it. "Get up. People are waiting."

Sam was laughing hysterically by this point. "Go on then, if you're so hungry. I'll be right there." Sam got up and headed into Kurt's bathroom.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam let Stacey steal two slices of his bacon. He knew they didn't often get expensive things like bacon, so he didn't mind at all. He just pretended so she'd have the fun of being sneaky and swiping it from him.

Burt said, "I can't believe you slept in, Kurt. You've always been a huge fan of Black Friday sales and you're out of the house at 4:00 in the morning headed off to some great sale."

"I don't need any new clothes."

"Sam, put your hand on his forehead. Is he sick?" Burt teased.

"I'm fine, Dad. I really don't have to have anything, but I might go later and get another pair of jeans."

"Don't you own like 50?" Finn asked.

"Actually no. I sorted through all of my stuff a few weeks back and I sold the stuff that didn't fit or I don't wear anymore."

"That's a good idea, Kurt," Carole said.

"There are some places in Columbus and Cincinnati, probably all of the bigger cities where you can sell teen clothes that are in good condition. Now, that I think about it, I might get some Vans, if I find a good deal."

"What are Vans?" Burt asked.

"Skateboarding shoes," Sam answered.

"Why do you need skateboarding shoes?"

"Matt's been teaching me as part of my acting lessons. It helps with balance and stuff."

"Interesting," Burt said, slightly shaking his head in confusion.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The Evans clan had packed up to leave by 11:00 because Dwight had to work the afternoon shift.

Kurt buckled Stacey into her booster seat. "I'm glad you came to visit us," he said to her.

"Me too. Maybe you can come see us with Sammy some time."

"Maybe."

Sam came around and gave her a kiss on the top of the head.

They waved as the car pulled out of the driveway.

"I know you miss them," Kurt said to Sam.

"I do, but I like it here. As crazy as it is here, school there was just awful. I hope my parents can find someplace else to live soon, at least a better school district before Stevie is old enough for middle school. Let's go back inside. Do you really want to go out and get the jeans and shoes?"

"I do and I don't, but I keep wearing the same pair of jeans to Cincinnati every time. I'd like to get a second pair. So, yes, but let's go do a quick search and see who has the best prices for the shoes before we go anywhere. Plus, Sebastian will be here at 2:00. So, we'll need to be back by then.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At 2:00, Sebastian pulled into the driveway. Kurt was already downstairs waiting, so he opened the door instantaneously as Sebastian stepped almost close enough to ring the doorbell.

Sebastian jumped a little when Kurt opened the door. "Where you just standing there?"

"Basically. I'm excited you're here. Come in."

Sebastian laughed. "Why are you so excited?"

"You're here. Isn't that enough reason?"

"Whatever. You're crazy."

"I don't see the problem."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. He stopped and looked around as he took his coat off. It was a nicer house than he had actually expected. The door opened into an entryway, which had a dining room off of it to the right and a living room to the left.

Kurt reached out, offering to take Sebastian's coat. "I'll hang it up for you, but from now on feel free to just put it in the closet yourself." He turned around and opened a large coat closet. He put Sebastian's coat on a hanger, hung it in the closet, and shut the closet door. "This way."

Sebastian followed him, carrying a leather duffle and a satchel.

"So, the living room and dining room both lead to the kitchen, sort of." Kurt turned to the left and led them through the living room into the hallway at the back of the living room. "That opening leads into the kitchen, as you can see." He pointed right. "That doorway leads down to the family room." He pointed to a door on the left side of the hallway and said, "That's a bathroom. This way is the way to the bedrooms." He turned left. "Up these stairs is my room, Finn's room, and Sam's room. On this floor over there," pointing to the left, "is the master bedroom and the office my dad and Carole share." Kurt led Sebastian up the stairs. When they got to the top, he stopped. "That door leads into Finn's room," indicating the door they were nearly facing. He turned left and walked a few feet. Pointing to the door on their right, "That's Sam's room." They walked to the end of the hall. "And this is my room." Kurt walked through the door, which was on the left. "Go on and put your stuff in here and I'll finish your tour."

Sebastian sat his duffle and satchel on the chair by Kurt's window.

Sebastian looked around. "Nice room."

"Thanks. Were you expecting something different?"

"I really didn't know what to expect. Most of the times we've talked, it's mostly been via text or on the phone. You're not really very predictable. The day we met, you looked like a runway model, but that day we met at the café, you looked much more casual – your hair wasn't even styled much. Then at the club, you had eyeliner and leather pants and well, you were looking all kinds of hot."

Kurt blushed. "Thank you?"

"So the rest of the tour?" he asked to ease Kurt's embarrassment.

"Right, right. Back downstairs."

As they walked past Sam and Finn's doors again, Kurt said, "Those two bedrooms share a bathroom. It's in the space between their two bedroom doors. You can only get into the bathroom by going into one of the rooms. My room has it's own bathroom, which you'll be sharing with me."

Sebastian nodded.

They headed down the stairs.

Kurt stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed to the right. "The door on the left leads out to the garage. The door on the right leads to the master suite. The other door leads to the office." He turned to the left and walked toward the kitchen. "Like I said, that's the bathroom and this way leads down to the family room."

Kurt opened the door and went down the stairs. Sebastian followed him.

"So, down here there's a TV with a couple of gaming systems." When they got to the bottom, Kurt stepped to the side and started talking again. "That room over there is just a storage room. There's a big deep freezer in there where we keep more food. Otherwise, we'd have to go the store like every other day. Finn and everyone else he brings over eat a lot of food."

"Got it."

"So, feel free to do whatever you'd like. If Finn and his friends are here, you'll never get to use the TV. I'll give you the wifi password and the Netflix password and you can watch whatever you want on your laptop."

"So, you have one TV?" Sebastian asked after he looked around the room.

"Yeah, well no. There's one in my parent's room. Why?"

"Oh, my father's house has 6 I think - no 7."

"Only four people live there. Why would there be 7 TVs?"

"Thing 1 and Thing 2 have one in each of their rooms, there's one in my room, one in my father's bedroom, one in the living room, the family room, and a small one in the kitchen."

"Wow. Well, here, we have just the one TV for all of the teens."

"It's fine. I couldn't figure out why they had so many either. We have just one in the main room. I thought maybe it was an American thing for there to be TVs in the bedrooms."

"We had just the one before Dad and Carole got married. Carole got rid of their TV when they moved in with us. It was one of those old bulky ones with a pretty small screen. After Finn started having people over so often to play video games, my dad eventually got tired of not being able to watch his shows. He bought a bigger TV and put it in here and kept our smaller TV for their bedroom."

"Makes sense."

"So, let's go back up."

They went back up and went into the kitchen.

"So, the door over there leads to the laundry room. The pantry shelves are in the laundry room. Obviously you can see the appliances. The snacks are in this cabinet." Kurt opened it showing the selection. "The only thing off limits is the beer in the fridge. The dining room is obviously through there."

"So, your friends just walk in and help themselves to snacks and drinks." He sat down on one of the bar stools.

"Well, Finn's friends do. I've not really had anyone over to this house."

"Oh, did you move recently?"

"Almost a year ago. They got the house about a month after they got married. I was at Dalton when they bought it."

Sebastian didn't know what to say, so he changed the subject. "So, when are you baking me cookies?"

Sam walked in the kitchen. "Hey, Sebastian. I didn't hear the doorbell."

"That's because Kurt opened the door before I got a chance to ring it."

Sam laughed. "He has a lot more than just cookies for you."

"Oh, really?" Sebastian smirked.

"He saved one piece of every dessert he made for Thanksgiving for you."

Kurt pulled the container out of the refrigerator and grabbed the cookies out of the cabinet where he had hidden them.

"These are all for me?" he asked, almost shyly, as Kurt put the bowl of cookes and the container with the desserts in front of him on the island.

"Yep." Kurt turned and got a fork out and handed it to Sebastian and stood next to the island.

Sebastian took the fork from Kurt. He took a bite of the cheesecake, then the chocolate cake, and then the pumpkin pie. He quickly sat the fork down and got down on one knee and took Kurt's hand.

"Marry me."

Kurt knocked him back on his butt and laughed. "Get up you goof. I guess that means you like them?" He offered his hand and pulled Sebastian to standing.

"They're fabulous. You should start a business." He took one cookie out of the bowl, sealed it back, and started eating it. "This is fantastic. Seriously, the best cookie, ever." He put the lid back on the container with the three desserts in it and put it back in the fridge.

"I thought you liked them."

"Oh, I do. But I'm not going to eat them all at once. I'm going to savor the experience."

"You are a goof." Kurt grabbed the fork and opened the dishwasher and stuck it in the utensils basket. "So, we're all even now, right? No one's feeling shorted anymore? Sam got his bear hug. Sebastian got his cookies."

Sam was leaning against the counter near the sink. "Now, wait," Sam said.

"Wait what?" Kurt turned to look at him.

"This isn't the end right? I mean you're not just going to leave us hanging from now on?" Sam asked, blinking and looking quite dejected.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"That wasn't like the last bear hug or the last desserts?" Sebastian asked pathetically, following Sam's lead.

Kurt looked back toward Sebastian. "You're as much as a goof as he is. You're both crazy."

"Pot calling the kettle and hmmm … skillet. Yeah, pot calling the kettle and the skillet black," Sam said.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "I have some laundry to do. You two can either participate or do whatever you want while I get it started." Kurt walked back toward the stairs and went up to his room.

Sebastian and Sam followed him.

"So, we're playing follow the leader, are we?"

"Well, my stuff is in YOUR room. I'm not sure what HIS excuse is." Sebastian laughed, pushing Sam towards his own bedroom door.

They both followed Kurt into his room.

Kurt took the pair of jeans he had bought out of the bag and took the tags off. He grabbed some other darks and the other pair of jeans he had been wearing every weekend and carried them back down to the laundry room and started the washer. He went back upstairs to find Sebastian and Sam lying on his bed.

"So, you two are just going to hang out on my bed while I'm being domestic? This isn't some strange ménage-a-trois, where I'm the 50s housewife."

"Hmm. Interesting idea, but I'm pretty sure that I'm a one guy kind of guy," Sebastian said.

Sam added, "And as much as you might like gender-bending, runway-style clothes, I'm pretty sure you would hate doing housework in a fitted skirt and heels."

Kurt laughed. "Those TV shows were nuts. Even if those women didn't leave their houses without putting on hose, heels, and the proper dress, there is no way they wore those clothes to do household chores in. And sleeping in separate twin beds once they were married? Boring."

Sam and Sebastian both laughed.

Kurt stood and sorted the rest of his laundry. "Do you two really not have any schoolwork to do?"

"I actually do," Sam said. "I should probably go get that done."

"Please?" Kurt asked. "I'd like to do something fun this evening and if you still have schoolwork to do then, we can't all do something together."

"Alright. I'll go be studious." Sam got up and went to his room.

"So, what about you? Surely the prestigious Dalton Academy didn't give you a week off from schoolwork?" Kurt sat down on the end of the bed, near Sebastian's feet, making sure his laundry was inside out and putting it back in the basket.

"No, but I already did it. It made a great excuse to sit in the library at my father's family Thanksgiving dinner yesterday."

"I see. Duty before relaxation."

"You know the family motto."

"It's the family motto around here too, well at least the Hummel part of the family. Finn horses around all the time. So, how did you end up having free time to come here? I thought you had other family obligations, and then you texted asking if you could come, even though you had originally said you couldn't."

"Well, my father, in his generosity, said that I didn't have to go to my stepmother's family event today. So, I was set free."

"Well, I'm glad you came."

"Me too. Are you as good a cook as you are baker?" Sebastian slid up and sat up in the bed and looked around Kurt's room, paying more attention this time.

Kurt didn't answer.

"It's not being conceited if you tell the truth."

"Yes."

"That's really cool. I like to cook, but I think you're probably better than me."

"Really? You like to cook too? Sam cooks with me, but the rest of the guys I know just like to show up and eat everything." Kurt paused and looked around. "If you like to read, feel free to read any of the books. Or like I said I'll tell you the wifi password and give you the Netflix password."

"I'm not bored. Talking to you isn't boring."

"Oh. Okay."

"Where are the other three people who live here?"

"Oh, they went to Carole's family's Thanksgiving dinner this afternoon in Dayton."

"You skipped to let me come over?"

"Um, no. I wasn't invited." Kurt continued to work on getting his clothes ready to wash.

"Oh. Their loss."

"Nice way to look at it, but I don't think so. They don't want to know me, so what they don't know won't be a loss or missed. Carole herself is very accepting and loving, so it's okay. At least I'm not living with it."

"My stepmother despises me. That's why I call my half brother and sister Thing 1 and Thing 2 because they're my dad's 'real' children. I obviously don't call them that to their faces. They're just little kids. It's not their fault that our father is a jerk."

"You were born before they were."

"Ah, but their mother is married to my father and my mother was just a fling that didn't mean anything."

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything. Well, other than being extraordinarily nice to someone who didn't deserve it."

Kurt looked up from his task and looked Sebastian directly in the eye. "Hey, stop. You deserve for people to be nice to you. Don't talk like that."

"I'll try," Sebastian looked away.

"If she dislikes you so much, why did your father bring you here?"

"He wants to make me a respectable person." Sebastian focused on looking towards the books Kurt had said he could read.

"You already are. You work hard in school. You're the lead singer for the Warblers."

"But I'm still gay," he said quietly.

"Oh." Kurt stopped messing with the clothes and went around to the other side and sat down on the bed next to Sebastian and took his hand. "It's alright. You have 6 months left. You've got me, Sam, the other Warblers that you're friendly with. Call me if you're ever feeling really down. Don't let them get to you."

"Thanks."

Kurt's alarm went off on his phone. "I'll be right back." He grabbed his basket of clothes and headed down. He moved the wet clothes to the dryer and put a new load in the washer. He reset his timer and went right back upstairs. He found Sebastian had fallen asleep in the short period of time that he had been gone. He covered him with a throw, and then grabbed the book he was reading for English, moved Sebastian's bags to the top of his dresser quietly, and sat in his chair and read.

He changed his phone to vibrate only and went back down when the timer went off. He hung up the clothes that couldn't be dried, put the clothes that could be dried in the dryer, and folded what had been in the dryer. He went back up to check on Sebastian and he was still asleep.

An hour later, Kurt quietly put away all of his clean clothes and was sitting in the chair reading again when Sebastian woke up.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." He smiled when he noticed that Kurt had covered him with the throw.

"It's okay. I finished the laundry while you took a nap."

Kurt lay back down on the bed. "Tell me about Paris."

Sebastian sat up and folded the throw and laid it on the end of the bed. He got his laptop out, sat back down on the bed, and opened his photos. He handed it to Kurt, who had sat up ready to listen. _"I went out before I had to leave and took pictures of my favorite places."_


	4. Chapter 4

The three of them used the Thanksgiving leftovers to make dinner. None of them ate exactly the same things, except for turkey.

"This is really good – all of it. Your stepmother is a MUCH better cook than the catering company my father's mother hired to prepare our very elegant, yet not nearly as good as this, feast yesterday."

"Well, if you're ever in central Ohio for Thanksgiving, consider yourself invited," Kurt said.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You could always come for any part of winter break that your father will let you escape here for."

"I'll keep that in mind. I think that skiing is on the agenda."

"Ooh. Shmancy," Sam said.

"Scary," Sebastian said. "I don't really want to go. I play lacrosse and I hope to make it on the Dalton team, but that won't happen if my arm or leg is in a cast."

"When is lacrosse season?"

"Practices start indoors in February."

"Yeah, breaking a body part at Christmas won't give you time to heal by February," Sam teased.

"I don't want to break any body parts at all ever, if I can manage it."

"Me either. I'm not sure how well basketball is going to go. I've never played on a team."

"What position are you?" Sebastian asked.

"Left forward. I'm going to give my best, and we'll just have to see."

"I'll be there EVERY game to cheer you on," Kurt said, imitating Eeyore's voice.

"Don't sound so excited to spend time with me." Sam stuck his tongue out.

"Ride with me on the Cheerios bus. That would make it more fun."

"I bet Coach Sue won't let me within 10 feet of that bus," Sam scoffed.

"Probably not. But it would be fun at least. I get to ride to the games with 7 girls, some of whom don't really like that I got the 8th travel team position."

Sebastian looked confused. "Wait, I'm lost. What's a Cheerio?"

"Our cheer squad's name is the Cheerios."

"You're a cheerleader?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Now, this I have to see. When's the first game?"

"The night before our Sectionals."

"I'm spending the night here that night. I was going to come to Sectionals anyway and spend Saturday here. I'll just come early. I'll wear a red shirt."

"Lovely," Kurt said sarcastically.

"I bet you do look lovely in the outfit," Sebastian said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"It definitely shows off his ASSets," Sam teased.

"Aaaaah. Enough. You can make fun of me afterward. Be here at 6:30. I'll swing by and get you during our dinner break."

"I'll bring food."

"No food. We're not allowed to eat."

"You get a dinner break that you can't use to eat dinner?" Sebastian asked.

"Exactly."

"We're back to the rabbit hole thing," Sebastian said.

"Coach Sue is the Red Queen."

"Off with their heads!" Sam said, sounding as much like Sue as he could. "She would totally do that if she could get away with it."

"You could bring me a grilled chicken salad with no dressing. I can eat it without touching it, chew gum afterwards, and maybe get away with it."

"She sounds insane, for real."

"She is," Sam said.

"I am never going to understand."

"Probably not," Kurt said. "No one does. We just learn to stop asking questions."

They cleaned everything up and went downstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Four hours later, Kurt and Sebastian were in their pajamas, lying in his bed in the dark, covered up and talking. Sam slept in his own room.

"_Now, I'm going to have to join Amazon Prime to watch the rest. How did I let myself get drawn into a Sci Fi series?"_ Sebastian asked rhetorically.

Kurt just laughed at him. "_I'll give you the Amazon password so you can watch more of it. Sam's so funny and persuasive that he's hard to say no to."_

"_I found that out tonight. This is all your fault."_

"_I know. You've told me plenty of times that it's all my fault that you have friends. Of all the things I've ever been blamed for, I actually don't mind this one at all. I needed a friend too."_

"_What about Sam?"_

"_Well, he's the first real male friend I've ever had and I was at Dalton most of the year and he moved to Kentucky about a month after I went back to McKinley. So, I was really glad when he came back."_

"_I see. I know I tease you, but I am glad we're friends."_

"_I know. I mean who wouldn't be glad to be friends with me? I'm fabulous."_

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"_I can hear you rolling your eyes."_

"_Whatever. Sleep."_

"_Yes, Mister Bossy Pants."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The three of them spent Saturday out scrounging around Goodwill stores and secondhand stores outside the Lima area looking for costume pieces for Sam and Kurt's "Under Pressure" duet. Musically they were close to being ready to perform, but they hadn't worked on the costuming at all.

They carried the bags into the house and were heading up to Kurt's room.

"I see you opted for shopping after all?" Burt teased.

"It's for Glee," Kurt said. "It's stuff to make costumes for Sam and me."

Sebastian sat his bag down and walked over to where Burt was sitting and extended his hand. "I'm Sebastian Smythe. It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Robert your father?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't call me 'sir'. Call me 'Burt'."

"I'll try."

"You're welcome around here any time, kid."

"Thanks."

"Now, get on with your project or Kurt there will turn into quite the taskmaster if helping him make costumes is anything like cooking with him." Burt laughed.

Sebastian wasn't used to be teased by adults. "I'll do my best," he responded seriously.

"You do that," Burt laughed. "I can't even thread a needle, so you can't possibly be any worse at it than I was when I used to try to help him."

"I guess we'll see."

Burt laughed as the three of them headed toward the stairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Your dad isn't what I expected," Sebastian said.

"He wasn't what I expected the first time I met him either."

"He's a softie, most of the time."

"That's true, but he's a papa bear when it comes to Kurt. Dave ended up pinned against a bulletin board with Burt's arm across his throat when Burt saw him make fun of Kurt."

"You weren't even there." Kurt started taking the stuff out of the bags.

Sam sat down on the bed. "Finn told me. And the night Finn insulted you in Burt's presence, he got thrown out of the house… for months."

"That was before he and Carole were married. He didn't throw Finn out on the street. He just didn't let him come over for a while. It wasn't months, but I think it set back the wedding. Anyway, it was just the two of us for a long time and the people of Lima have never been accepting. He just wants to protect me."

Sebastian was standing next to Kurt facing Sam. "I'll mind my manners."

"The stuff you tease me about wouldn't upset him."

"Finn referred to Kurt's room redec as 'faggy'."

"Ah, I see. Finn isn't a fan of interior design?"

"Finn isn't a fan of anything that isn't hyper masculine, including me. We're getting better. He used to be one of the guys who bullied me, along with Puck. The two of them stopped after they joined Glee."

"If you talk about lacrosse and sports when you first meet him, you'll have better luck at him liking you. And an even better chance if you never tell him that you're gay."

"Meh. Either he likes me or he doesn't. I already have way more friends than I intended to have." He elbowed Kurt.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Do you want me to put the suit back on?"

"Nah, I'm going to go wash all of this stuff first. Come on. I'll introduce Sebastian to Carole and you two can start to help her make dinner."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A couple of hours later, they were back up in Kurt's room.

"This suit is made of the wrong fabric completely, but no one else will know that. But it's definitely the wrong style. You can put it on now, so I can mark it to alter it." Kurt held the suit out for Sam to take.

Sam grabbed the suit and went in Kurt's bathroom and put it on. "I'm not convinced that baby blue is my color."

"But it's as close as I could find to what David Bowie was wearing in the video. I'm certain that singing with no shirt like Freddie Mercury was in that one video is definitely not me. The yellow jacket isn't really me either, but at least I won't be half naked."

"Their loss." Sebastian quipped, as he sat down in the chair in the corner.

"Would you knock it off? No one in Glee wants to see me half naked."

"I'm sure that's not true," Sebastian said.

"From what I've heard, Brittany would be all over that idea," Sam said.

"Yeah, well I've done the Brittany all over me idea before. No thanks."

"The almost week of being straight?" Sebastian asked.

"Exactly. She is a good kisser and at least keeps her hands to herself with a gentle redirect. But she's totally not my type."

"So, Mr. Magic, how are you going to turn this 70s suit into an 80s suit?" Sam asked.

"Turn slowly."

Sebastian wolf whistled.

Sam waggled.

"You two," Kurt huffed in frustration. "Stand still or you might make me poke you."

"I'm not worried. Blood would be really hard to get out of baby blue suit. I'm safe."

Kurt sighed.

Sebastian laughed.

Kurt marked where to start tapering the pants legs. "I'm going to have to work on the jacket lapel to make it narrower. The jacket needs shortened and those pocket flaps need to be removed." Kurt marked the jacket length. "Okay, you can take it off."

Sam started to slide the jacket down his back provocatively.

Sebastian wolf whistled again.

"You can take it off in the BATHROOM."

"You ruin all the fun of this, Kurt," Sebastian teased.

"Hush."

Sam came back out in his sweats and handed Kurt the suit.

"Alright. You two can watch a movie or something while I work on this." Kurt sat down at his desk, where he had set his sewing machine up.

"Have you seen _Avatar_?"

"No."

"Then, that's what we're watching." He scurried off to his room to get the DVD and came right back.

Sebastian pulled his laptop out. He and Sam propped Kurt's pillows up and sat in his bed watching the movie while Kurt fixed the suit up. They paused when Kurt needed Sam to try the pants on again, and then went right back to watching it.

By the time the movie was done, Kurt had fixed up everything except for shortening the jacket. Sam saw that he wasn't done and took advantage of that and put the special features disc in. Kurt laughed and finished up the jacket.

"Alright. Time to put it back on." Kurt held out the pieces for Sam to try on again.

"Aw, I like the 'take it off' time better," Sebastian said.

Sam swayed his hips on his way to the closet. He came back out a few minutes later.

"Much better. Much, much better. Once I steam and iron the pieces, the new seams will lay flat and it will look great."

"You know that's really amazing, right? The fact that you can just look at it and change it up and make it fit right and look right?"

"It's fun."

"It's a real skill and talent. You're good."

"Thank you?"

"He's right, Kurt." Sam insisted, when he came back out of the closet. "You are good."

Kurt just nodded and started picking up the scraps and tossing them in the trash. He laid the suit jacket and slacks on the chair so he could iron them at some point. He put the yellow trench coat on and took a look at himself in the mirror. He started marking it with pins. He cut about 24 inches off the bottom and started cutting the piece into strips about 3 inches wide to make the straps that Freddie Mercury's jacket had on it.

"I can't finish the jacket tonight. I forgot about the buckles on the straps. I'll have to go to a craft or fabric store to get those. I need 8. And I need shiny silver binding for the straps too. It's too late to finish it tonight anyway. I have to get up and go to Cincinnati in the morning. Do you want to swap places? You can sleep with Sam if you want. That way I won't wake you up when I get up and get ready."

"If that's what you want, I will."

"It's up to you. I don't know when you are planning to head back to Dalton."

"The doors open at 8:00, so I could leave when you're leaving."

"That's fine too, if you want to head back that early. You're welcome to stay here with Sam. He lives here just as much as I do. You two can decide while I go shower." Kurt grabbed pajamas and headed into his bathroom.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was still in his room when he came back out.

"My turn?"

"Yep. Oh, I forgot to lay anything out for you. There are clean towels and washcloths under the sink."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Kurt picked up the strips of yellow fabric and stacked them neatly. He put the jacket on and put pins in it to mark where to put the straps. He was still fiddling with it when Sebastian came back.

"I can see the beginning of what you're doing. You should start to photograph the steps. You could start a vlog or a YouTube channel or something."

"Nah. I don't need the hate. I do this for fun and because I like it. Opening myself up for more attacks would ruin it." He took it off and turned the lights off after Sebastian got in the bed.

"Wow. The wounds are deep."

"People have been poking at me since I was 7 or 8. Years of being stabbed leave big wounds. You want to know one thing I like about the new house?"

"What?"

"My dad didn't keep our landline. Since we all have cell phones, it's our responsibility to keep them charged and nearby."

"I don't get it."

"The 'Make the world a better place by killing yourself.' phone calls are a thing of the past."

"Oh, my God. You're serious, aren't you?"

"Completely."

"I hate this place sometimes."

"You and me both."

"Six months."

"In six months, I'll still be here. Maybe in 9 months, I'll be in Cincinnati. Hopefully, the university is more like Dalton. Maybe no fewer homophobes, but they keep their opinions to themselves."

"I hope so."

"Sleep. We have to get up early and drive."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Trevor wasn't back in town from Thanksgiving break, but Kurt enjoyed his acting lesson with Matt at his apartment. After they had finished working on his actual acting skills with the play he had memorized, they went back out and worked on his skateboarding skills at an indoor place that Matt liked to go to.

When he got back to the house, his dad was in the kitchen poking through the fridge looking to see what was still left.

"You three did a good job of wiping out the leftovers."

"Carole told us to eat them, but don't worry. I made you a whole meal and stuck it in the freezer where Finn wouldn't find it. You can take it to work with you tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Sit and I'll make you a sandwich." Kurt opened the fridge and pulled stuff out. "I wanted to thank you for not freaking out about Sebastian. He had a good time."

"I wouldn't wish for anyone I know to have to live with his father. He's not abusive, is he?"

"Not in the way you're thinking. He's manipulative though. I won't go into details because it's not my story to tell."

"Well, make sure he knows if things ever go south, that he's welcome here. We're running out of extra room for the strays, but he can share with you, if it comes to that."

"Thanks." Kurt worked on assembly a wrap for Burt.

"I did a lot of thinking. I realized that I was being ridiculous. We live where it's absolutely not safe for you to be romantic with anyone. And while I'm not thrilled with the idea of you growing up and doing adult things, thinking that you never will would be dumb on my part. I want you to be safe. You've already shown that you're willing to keep your self-respect in tact and not just jump into bed with the first available person. If and when you find someone suitable, the two of you will be welcome here. As long as you're both adults, I'd even be willing to make sure you have some time to be alone here. I'd rather you be here and safe, than to try to be together somewhere in Lima in a motel or a car."

Kurt was stunned. He stopped what he was doing and looked at Burt. "That's really…"

"Shocking."

"Pretty much." Kurt laughed and went back to preparing the food.

"You can thank Carole. She helped knock some sense into me. She can be very persuasive."

Kurt laughed. "I'll be sure to thank her."

"But I expect you to be honest with me. Don't lie to me that some person you start having come over is just a friend if he is more than a friend."

"The only time that would be an issue would be if I started seeing someone that's still in the closet."

"Well, in that case, I'd still like to know. Carole and I will absolutely not tell Finn."

"Alright. I mean, I'd have to talk to the guy first, but I appreciate the offer. Really."

Burt nodded.

Kurt put the plate on the island in front of Burt and sat down at the island with him. "But just so you know, nothing is going on between me and Sebastian. I already told you that he's going back to Paris in 6 months. No matter how much I might end up liking him at some point, I'm not going to let anything happen between us. That's just a set up for massive heartbreak."

"I get it." Burt looked suspiciously at his "sandwich".

"But you should know something. He's a huge flirt. Not just with me, but Sam too. So, if you ever overhear him, just keep in mind that he likes to tease. I was working on Sam's Glee costume and Sebastian was wolf whistling at him when Sam was turning for me to check out what I needed to fix. So, if you're ever upstairs and overhear something you think is him hitting on me, just know that he's like that."

"Got it. He knows Sam's not gay, right?" He went a head and took a bite.

"As far as I know. That's why I said it's all a joke. Sam started wiggling his tush, just to egg him on. They both just enjoy flustering me, but like in a normal friendship way. It's nice. I've never had friends that were comfortable enough with me to actually tease me."

"I get it. I'll keep that in mind when he's around."

"If he sees you, he'll behave very straight-laced. It's his survival MO. Be straight. Act straight."

"Poor kid."

"So, just let his silly side show when he's here, okay?"

"Sure, kiddo." You know this isn't really a sandwich. There's no bread. But it's edible."

Kurt just smiled and got up to get him a napkin. "You get to enjoy the insides of a sandwich – close enough," he teased.

Burt rolled his eyes and took another bite. "If he were staying, you'd ask him out, wouldn't you?"

"In a month or so, probably yeah. I'd want to get to know him a little more first, but yeah."

"That's tough."

Kurt shrugged and sighed. "Yeah. I got over it with Sam and we're good friends now. I'll survive." Kurt changed the topic to how Burt was preparing himself to be a congressman.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next week was the same every day.

Kurt got up early and went to Cheerios practice and Sam headed to basketball practice.

Every day after school, there was an hour of Glee rehearsal. They booked it out every afternoon to make it to the shop to be able to put in a few hours each afternoon.

They made it home just in time to slide into their places at the dinner table and then hurry off to get their schoolwork done.

Monday night, Kurt soaked his Cheerio backpack in his bathtub, making sure it stayed submerged overnight. He figured if she bugged it somehow that 8 hours of submersion would destroy it. He just couldn't put anything past her after she hand-delivered that heart attack on a plate to his dad at Breadstix on top of the rest of her insane campaign. He was less concerned about what she'd find out about him than he was that she would somehow use anything she could against his dad.

Friday was the first day that Kurt had to wear the uniform all day. He got plenty of looks throughout the day, most of them from girls who seemed to be giving him the vibe that they thought he looked good, which was unusual.

They practiced for sectionals on the stage after school. He and Tina killed it. He knew they were in a good position to win the next day, but winning against Santana and Mercedes wouldn't be easy. They were powerhouses, and the Cheerios that joined the Troubletones had turned the group into a real threat.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian arrived at the designated time with the appropriate food, including some cinnamon Altoids and cinnamon gum.

"Get in. I'll drive, you eat." Kurt hit the lock on his remote and got in Sebastian's car instead.

Kurt looked puzzled at the Altoids box that Sebastian handed him.

"Those things are so strong that there is no way anyone can smell anything on your breath besides cinnamon. After you eat the salad, put one of those in your mouth, and then chew the cinnamon gum. She'll never know."

Sebastian pulled out of the driveway and headed in the direction that Kurt indicated.

"I hope not. I have no interest in running laps after the game."

"She's insane. How many of these games do you have to cheer for?"

"A number that is far too high. To be honest, if I had realized that there were twice as many basketball games as football games in a season, I might not have joined."

"More than 20 then."

"22."

"Wow."

"Yeah. It would have been only half that many if I had been able to pull off not doing my best without her knowing it. The travel squad only has 8 members, but I got chosen."

"Lucky you."

"Yeah. Lucky me. You ready? Nice hoodie. Did you go shopping for that?"

"I actually did. I stopped on the way here and bought it. You're not being sarcastic are you? It does look okay, right?"

"It's perfect. Really."

"Oh, good."

Sebastian followed Kurt's directions to get to McKinley. He parked in the visitor's parking lot and followed Kurt into the gymnasium. He found a seat on the Titans side of the court. He ended up sitting down near Tina.

The game finally got underway and Sebastian did his best to watch the game when the Titans had the ball, paying attention to Sam and cheering for him. But he spent the rest of the time trying to not be too obvious about watching Kurt. Sam was right about the outfit showing off his assets.

After the Cheerios halftime show, Tina scooted down the bench a little. "Why are you so interested in Kurt? And Sam? I've never seen you at school before."

"Kurt and Sam are my friends."

"I've never heard him talk about you. I'm Tina, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sebastian. And I just moved here this fall."

"Moved here from where?"

"Paris."

Tina didn't say anything for a while. Once the rest of the halftime show ended, she started talking again. "Paris?"

"I lived there with my mother. Now, I live with my father in Columbus."

"I see. Sorry to interrogate you. Kurt's just had a lot of people…well…"

"Be complete jackasses to him? Yeah, I know. It's nice of you to watch out for him. But I'm not stalking him. I drove him here. I'm spending the weekend at his house."

"Alright. You must be on the up and up because Burt doesn't let guys stay over with Kurt."

She scooted down a little bit, giving him a little more space again.

As soon as the game ended, Sebastian moved to the area right outside the girls' locker room where Kurt had told him to wait. Kurt came out a few minutes later with the Cheerios backpack, ready to leave. They waited for Sam to come out of the boys' locker room. The three of them headed to Sebastian's car. Kurt put the backpack in the trunk.

As soon as they were all in, Sebastian spoke. "You need to know that I talked to Tina. She saw me watching you and cheering for Sam and she confronted me. I told her that I had been living with my mother in Paris, but that now I live in Columbus with my father."

"Okay."

"I told her that I was staying at your house this weekend. That seemed to convince her. She said something about your dad never letting guys stay over so I must be the real deal."

"Well, she'll be at the house for breakfast." Kurt laughed.

"Oh, God." Sam laughed. "Let the inquisition begin."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian finished relating the story to Burt, who wound up laughing at him just as hard as Kurt said he would.

"You realize that she won't last until 10:00 before she's here seeing if you're here? She's protective of Kurt. All 5 foot nothing of her. This will be great." Burt was still laughing.

"Well, I'm glad to be a source of humor." Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Carole has dinner ready for the three of you. Go eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole was in the kitchen. "Good evening, boys. You seemed to have some funny stories to tell Burt in there. I haven't heard him laughing so much in ages."

Sebastian retold the story.

Carole laughed at him too. "Of all of the people to talk to, you talked to one of the few people who will actually check up on you. It will be fine, sweetie. She'll be over tomorrow morning to see if you're really here and Kurt will get it all straightened out."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian plopped down in the bed after he came out of the bathroom after his shower. Kurt had already turned the lights off and was under the covers.

Kurt just laughed at him. "Look. I'll fix it. It will be fine. She's going to see you at Regionals, if we win tomorrow. She's going to know you go to Dalton. Blaine won't keep quiet about what he knows about you once he sees you with me. It's better that I get to tell her about you first anyway."

"I forgot about Blaine."

"Lucky you," Kurt said sarcastically.

"That's gotta suck to see him every day."

"It does. It's really hard. I'm actually really hoping that he's going back to Dalton for next semester."

"Thanks. Pawn him off on me." He got up and pulled the covers back and got in the bed the right way.

"Your early behavior with him will taint the way he talks about you. Just ignore him. I'll tell everyone you love to yank people's chains. Everyone will believe me over him, once Tina tells everyone that my dad lets you stay here with me."

"Why is that such a big deal? I didn't ask the first time I came and you said that you hadn't had anyone here since you moved, but with the emphasis on the fact that your dad is letting me stay here with you, I'm curious."

"Well, there was a blowout with me bringing Blaine here smashed last February. He was so drunk that Finn and I had to carry him up the stairs, and I let him sleep in my room without permission. Finding a boy in my bed that he didn't know, combined with the fact that boy was obviously incredibly hung over, didn't go over well."

"I'd imagine not."

"Anyway, he overreacted. It was the first time I had ever gone to a party where there was drinking and it was the first time I had brought a guy home. I decided not to try either thing again. I went to him after I had spent that Saturday at your house and we talked. He realized the error of his ways and recanted his 'No boys overnight rule'. And so you are the first guy that's been here with my dad's approval. This will 100% convince Tina that you are a good guy. Trust me."

"Okay. And I do trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

"So, sleep. Otherwise, I'm going to think you're trying to sabotage me for the competition tomorrow by keeping me from sleeping." Kurt turned over on his side so he could sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, the doorbell rang at 9:00. Kurt and Sebastian went to the door to answer it, still in their pajamas.

"Good morning, Tina. I see you've brought Quinn with you. Please come in. What can I do for you lovely ladies this fine December morning?"

The two girls walked into the living room and sat down. At the same time, Burt came in the living room from the hallway.

"Oh, good. You got the door already."

"Yep, we got it, Dad."

"If you two are hungry, I'll go tell Carole to make some more waffles."

"Um, sure, Burt. That would be great," Tina said.

He walked off toward the kitchen.

Kurt said, "So, come on into the dining room, if you're joining us for breakfast."

They walked back through the entryway into the dining room to avoid traipsing through the kitchen while Carole was cooking. They walked in to find Sam, Finn, and Puck already sitting the table. The four new arrivals sat down across from them at the table. Kurt got right back up, and Sam followed him to the kitchen. They started carrying plates and food out to the table.

"Thanks, guys," Carole said.

"You're welcome," Sam said.

Kurt walked over and hugged her. "Sorry for the extra people to feed." She and Burt were sitting at the island eating together.

"Meh. I knew they'd show up. Once Tina knows something, it was bound to bring out the nosiness. I'm actually surprised Rachel isn't here."

"I'm glad she's not. I'm going to go deal with this." Kurt took the platter of waffles with him to the dining room.

"Alright, everyone, this is my friend Sebastian."

They nodded or waved. The platters and plates started being passed around the table and each person took what they wanted.

"That's Puck. And you met the lovely Tina at the game last night, and this is the beautiful Quinn."

"Nice to meet all of you."

"So, before anyone asks any questions. Sebastian is fond of yanking people's chains just for the fun of it. He met Blaine when he went to Dalton to give the Warblers tickets to _West Side Story_ and convinced him that he's some sort of Casanova. What's true is that he goes to Dalton and he is a Warbler, the lead Warbler this year. He is a transfer student from Paris, France, where he lived with his mother, who still lives there. His father and stepmother live in Columbus."

"I knew you looked familiar, but without the uniform, I couldn't place it," Puck said. You came to the play."

"I did."

"So, Burt really lets you stay here with Kurt?" Tina asked.

"I'm here wearing pajamas aren't I? Burt was just in the same room with me five minutes ago. Did he look surprised to see me?"

"No," Quinn said.

"You were cheering for Sam last night," Tina said.

"Yeah. Sam and I are friends too."

Puck, Tina, and Quinn looked at Sam.

"It's true. I've spent the weekend at his house in Columbus with Kurt and he's spent the weekend here with us before."

"Alright. You pass. Don't lie to us though. Too many people have hurt Kurt for us to just let new people get close to him without vetting them," Puck said.

"And when Rachel finds out, she's going to go ballistic," Quinn added. "Just so you're prepared. That's why we came here without her. We're the sane ones."

"We'll vouch for you since we've seen you here with Burt and Carole home," Tina said. "But she's going to be 100% certain that you're a spy or that you're trying to steal Kurt back from us or find out our set list or sabotage us somehow."

"Well, Kurt would be welcomed back to the Warblers. Trent, Nick, Jeff, Flint, Thad, and David miss him. And with Wes gone, Kurt's ideas wouldn't be summarily dismissed without consideration. But I'm not here to steal him back. I like being lead. If he came back, he might challenge me for the spot."

Puck laughed. "I like him."

"Well, Blaine and Rachel will be problems," Kurt said. "Blaine didn't actually get to know Sebastian very well and he's not going to say nice things about him. Just so you're prepared that he will likely be as mean about this as Rachel."

"Great," Puck said. "I hear enough from him as it is."

"Were you ever planning to tell us that you broke up with him?" Quinn asked.

"Not really. I figured the observant people would figure it out, and everyone else who didn't care enough to notice, didn't need to know."

"Will you tell us why?" Tina asked.

Kurt didn't answer at first, and then shook his head. "It's personal."

"Alright," Quinn said. "We won't ask again."

"Do I need to rearrange his body parts?" Puck asked.

Sam stuffed a huge bite of waffle in his mouth.

Sebastian did his best not to give away the fact that he knew by going to the kitchen and opening the fridge. He came back emptied handed and sat down.

Kurt looked at him and tilted his head questioningly.

"No strawberries."

"Oh. We'll get some next time."

"Pass the waffles back this way," Finn said. "The syrup too."

The conversation shifted away from Sebastian and Blaine while the 7 teens finished eating breakfast together.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A couple of hours later, Kurt, Sam, and Finn were headed to the school to compete at Sectionals. Sebastian went with them. He grabbed a book from Kurt's shelf and sat in the auditorium reading for an hour before the competition started.

Burt and Carole headed out in time to watch the show. Sebastian moved to the hallway so he could catch them on their way in and sit with them.

Before the competition, the Troubletones came to visit the New Directions in the choir room.

Shelby entered saying, "Hello, Will."

"Looking good, ladies!"

"We just came to say, 'May the best Glee Club win.'"

Santana nearly interrupted her, "And just in case that Glee Club is us, I have convinced Ms. Corcoran to consider a contingency plan."

"Yes, in the event of a New Directions loss, the Troubletones have voted to allow any of you to join us at Regionals."

Sugar added, "You're welcome."

Mr. Schue said, "Excuse me?"

Finn spoke up, "That is incredibly rude."

"We're being nice," Santana countered. She smarted back some more to Finn, but Mr. Schue interrupted her.

"Thank you for the offer, Ms. Corcoran, but right now, we're gonna concentrate on winning this thing."

Ms. Corcoran nodded and said, "Good luck everybody." The group left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

First up were the Unitards. Rachel was sitting in front of Kurt. As soon as they came out on stage, the two of them saw their lead singer – Harmony.

"Oh, my God. It's the Gerber baby. Oh, my God. She's good."

"This is torture," Rachel said. "I should be singing that song."

She and Kurt mouthed the words along with Harmony.

The Unitards received thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

Kurt leaned towards Sam. "Harmony was fantastic, but she did all of the singing. The rest of the people were just props and dancers. They barely sang at all. I think we can beat them."

Sam nodded.

Next up were the Troubletones. Mercedes and Santana sang a mash up of "I Will Survive" and "Survivor". The singing was fantastic, but their arm movements weren't in sync and they were far too numerous, making them very distracting. But the audience loved it.

The New Directions were last to take the stage. Tina started "ABC" loud and clear. Kurt came in just as strong. The two of them were center stage and killing it. The group danced all around the stage and got into several formations, mimicking Michael Jackson poses, and regrouped several times throughout the song. Tina and Mike saw his dad come in and sit down near the front. Kurt and Tina continued with their back and forth. Halfway through the song, the audience was already on their feet.

Kurt caught Sebastian's eye and did his leapfrog jump over Mike perfectly and pushed the girls out of the way "sit down girls" and did his sexy hip isolations. Mike countered with "Get up girl, show me what you can do." Sam took center stage to "shake it" doing body rolls.

Quinn did a great job at the beginning of "Control" and the song went smoothly. Artie and Blaine did a good job.

"Man in the Mirror" was a huge hit. Mike created choreography that was reminiscent of his broom dance for the Night of Neglect. He danced in a moving spotlight acting out the story in the song moving around the five spotlighted guys that were splitting the lead on the song.

Once they finished, they went backstage to await the results. It wasn't long before all three groups were called back. The New Directions were the winners.

Kurt slipped down into the audience before heading back to get changed. He found Matt and Trevor standing with his dad, Carole, and Sebastian.

"That was awesome, Kurt," Matt said.

Kurt's face showed his shock. "I didn't know you two were coming."

"We decided to surprise you in case knowing that we were here would make you nervous. We found your dad because Trevor knew what he looked like from a TV ad."

"So, you've all met then?"

"Yep, kiddo. You all did great. Congratulations! Go get changed and head home. I'll have Sebastian ride with Matt and Trevor so they'll know how to get there. We're going to order some pizzas now so they'll get to the house sooner."

"Thanks, Dad. I'll see you all in a little bit then." Kurt waved and headed off to change.

Finn went with Rachel instead of riding home with Kurt and Sam.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Everyone was in the dining room when Kurt and Sam arrived. Kurt walked into the room to find Jeff, Nick, Trent, David, and Thad at the table.

"Hey guys! I'm glad you came," Kurt said.

"Did everyone get introduced?" When he didn't get a response, Kurt went down the row and had them say their names.

Burt sat next to Matt and Trevor and continued to ask them about the university and the program. They did their best to answer all of his questions. Kurt couldn't really hear exactly what they were talking about because there were a lot of people talking.

"We shouldn't have let Wes squelch your ideas last year," Jeff said. "You were right. We were just too stuck in tradition and Wes had been on the council for two years."

"We already knew we wasted your talent last year," David added, "but after seeing you today, we realized just how much. We're really sorry. We should have listened. We should have realized that once we shot you down, you weren't going to be likely to speak up again since you had been bullied before. We just did it by ignoring your ideas."

"Once Wes and Blaine were gone and Sebastian got voted our new lead, things changed quickly," Nick said. "You'll find us to be much more of a threat come Regionals this year," Thad added, smiling and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Bring it!" Kurt said laughing. "Once we get the girls back, with their twirly skirts, you and your boring gray pants and blue blazers will not catch the judges' eyes."

"How many of the guys in your group can do back flips?" Jeff asked.

"That would be just Kurt," Sam said. "A few girls can too."

"Hmm. You'll just have to wait and see what Sebastian's taught the guys to do," Jeff teased.

"Where are the rest of the Warblers?" Sam asked.

"Not everyone could come, but the rest that did went out with Blaine," Nick answered.

"Okay," Kurt said.

Nick continued, "Back when we heard that the two of you broke up, we knew he had to have done something really awful. You put up with so much crap last year and stayed loyal to him that we knew which side to take. The rest of the less observant Warblers went off with him when he invited them."

"It's fine. He's allowed to have friends."

"You always were too nice," Trent said.

After about an hour, Matt and Trevor said their goodbyes and headed back to Cincinnati. Kurt and Carole walked them to the door.

On the way back to the dining room, she said, "They're both really nice, honey."

"They are. They've both been really helpful and supportive."

When Kurt sat back down, Jeff asked, "Who were they? I must have missed them introducing themselves."

"Oh, I've been taking voice and acting lessons and my instructors showed up to surprise me today."

"That's cool. They're really young," Jeff said.

"They're graduate students. Matt's 21 and Trevor is 25."

The front door opened and Finn came into the dining room to see what was going on. "Ooh. Pizza. Awesome. There's some left, right?"

"Yeah, there's plenty," Kurt answered.

"So, why are like half the Warblers here?"

"They came to watch." Kurt lowered his voice. "Remember what I said?"

"Right…" He thought for a second and their talk came to mind. He smiled. "Right! So, did you guys win your Sectionals?"

"We did," Flint answered.

"Oh, I forgot. Everyone, this is Finn."

They waved and Kurt had them say their names.

"So, we'll face each other at Regionals," Finn continued.

"Yep," Jeff answered.

"Sebastian has managed to get them to learn to dance. So, we're going to have to be in top form to beat them," Kurt said.

"Aw, man. I can't dance worth a darn. It takes me forever to learn the dances. Maybe I should stick the drums up in the performance part of the stage and wear a face mic, so I don't have to dance."

"We'll figure it out, Finn," Sam said.

"You guys like video games?" Finn asked. "We could go downstairs and play?"

"Sure," Jeff said. He, Nick, and David headed downstairs with Finn and the box of pizza he snatched on the way to the basement door.

The rest of the group moved to the living room and sat around talking for a while. Eventually the Warblers needed to head out.

Kurt saw them to the door and thank them for coming, suggesting that they come again sometime soon.

"You know where we are too. Don't be such a stranger," Jeff said as he got in the car.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt, Sam, and Sebastian headed up to Kurt's room. He steamed and ironed Sam's suit and his yellow jacket.

"Here, put the whole outfit on this time and let's see how it looks."

Sam took the outfit and headed into his room to change.

Kurt stepped into his closet and put the white pants, white low v-neck shirt, and the yellow jacket with all the straps on it and came back out.

Sam walked back into the room just a couple of minutes later. "So? Is it right?" He turned in a circle showing Kurt.

"You two look great. Kurt still needs a mustache, but other than that, you guys look fantastic. So, let me hear the song. I get to be Simon Cowell."

"How about you get to be one of the nicer judges?" Sam suggested.

"Nope. I'm hard to please and think I know everything. I'm Simon."

"Fine, fine." Kurt pulled up the backing track they'd been practicing with. "I don't have our props to use in here, so you'll just have to imagine the mics and mic stands."

"Got it." He leaned back in the chair with his index finger over his lips, imitating Simon Cowell's stance during an audition.

Kurt started the music and became Freddie Mercury. Sebastian watched the transformation, but could barely believe his eyes. Sam did a good job on his part, but he was still Sam singing. Sebastian watched the whole piece very carefully. When they finished, he pretended to press the golden buzzer enthusiastically.

"That was amazing. Really. When are you two going to perform?"

"Well, I'll put our outfits in a garment bag and take them with us to school. We'll do it as soon as Mr. Schue says we can."

"Get someone to video it so I can hear it with the live music and the microphones."

"Alright," Sam said. "I'm sure we can convince someone to do it."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt left Sebastian sleeping in his bed and left the house at 6:30 like he normally did on Sunday mornings. He arrived in time to look through his music before Trevor got there. He got out when he saw Trevor pull up.

"Your group rocked Sectionals yesterday," Trevor said as he unlocked the door.

"Thanks. And thanks for driving all the way to Lima to see me. I was completely surprised."

"You're welcome. I wanted to see you perform live. It's easy enough to project in a room this size and make you feel like you're reaching the whole room, but it's different in an auditorium. You did great. The girl you sang with was really good too. She had a really great positive vibe about her." He put his stuff down on top of the piano.

Kurt sat his stuff on a nearby table. "Tina. That was her first competition lead too. I like singing with her a lot. It's interactive. She plays off of who she sings with. The girl who normally sings lead really expects her partners to follow her lead."

"Well, you two are a good pair. The two girls that sang lead in the all-girls group were really good and girl lead in the other group was fantastic."

"She was. I met Harmony before - at the NYADA mixer earlier this fall. I'm sure she'll get in anywhere she applies in a couple of years. She has credits since before she was born and she has an abundance of confidence and talent. And the other two girls are Santana and Mercedes and they really are quite good. They broke apart from us and joined Ms. Corcoran's group because they were rarely featured."

"Your director sounds like a one trick pony. Hopefully, he noticed that he has several ponies that can do tricks now." Trevor laughed. He sat down on the piano bench, hands in place, ready to play. "Let's get to work on these more classical pieces that you've been working on."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt came in when he and Trevor were done. Trevor packed up his music and left.

"So, I have a question for you."

"Alright."

"So, a friend of mine had tickets for a play this afternoon a 1:00 and she decided that she had too much studying to do and so she gave them to me. Do you want to go with me?"

"Sure."

"Alright. Let's head over to the indoor skate park and stay for like an hour. We can go back to my place and work on the play and you can change into your normal clothes and be yourself the rest of the day. We'll grab some lunch and go see the play."

"Sounds like a plan." Kurt grabbed the papers he had gotten out and put them back in his satchel and headed down the stairs with Matt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So that was a student-written play?" Kurt asked as he got into Matt's car.

"It was. What did you think?"

"I liked it. I thought it was pretty funny."

"Me too. I'm glad you liked it after you stuck around to watch it."

"I'm not opposed to doing things while I'm here. I just don't really like driving in the dark on the winding roads too much. Too many deer at dusk. But other than that, if you know of things to do, just let me know. I'm driving over four hours each time I come. I might as well get the most out of my gas money. I just don't want to take up too much of your time since you're already working with me with no monetary compensation."

Matt put on the air of an aristocrat, "But sir, I get the great pleasure of your company."

Kurt laughed and shoved him and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You and Sebastian and Sam are crazy sometimes."

Matt smiled. He pulled up alongside the Navigator, where they had left it in the church parking lot. "I'll see you next week."

"Thanks for everything." Kurt waved as he got in the Navigator and drove off.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next afternoon in Glee, Kurt got everyone to agree to reconvene in the auditorium in 20 minutes. He asked Puck to make sure that all of the doors were locked once they were inside. He had asked Lauren to record them. He and Sam changed in the backstage area avoiding being seen in the hallway in their costumes. The band set up while they were changing.

_Bum bum bum be de be dum._

The iconic drums, snapping, guitar, and piano started. Kurt and Sam came out singing. Sam mostly stayed in place like David Bowie and Kurt strutted around the stage a la Freddie Mercury. Eventually, Sam pulled his mic out of the stand and moved toward the front of the stage the way Bowie did in the video.

Four minutes later, the whole production was over and everyone was applauding. Kurt and Sam took a bow and exited to change. Kurt put their costumes back in the garment bag. Once they were redressed, they went out to the audience.

"That was amazing, guys." Mr. Schue said.

"Wow, that rocked," Finn said.

"Thanks," Kurt said.

They accepted the compliments they were given and the group dismissed since no one else had anything prepared.

Lauren handed Kurt his flash drive with the video she had taken on it.

"Thanks!"

She just nodded and left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The following Sunday, Kurt showed the video to Trevor. He sat on the piano bench and watched it.

"Well, as far as a vocal performance goes, I think you did a good job singing the song. No one is ever going to sound exactly like Freddie Mercury. But the performance aspect of it was really good. You had a lot of energy and you did a great job mimicking his style and movements."

"Thanks. The song was mostly just sort of a vindication from last year when I had to sing alone and my almost stepbrother told me I'd get Sam killed for singing with me because he obviously thought there were no non-romantic duets." Kurt put the phone back in his satchel.

"The _Victor/Victoria_ number you did alone?"

"Yes. This was just sort of an in your face, 'I am male and I can sing songs that men made famous and I can do it with another guy if I want to.'"

"Well, I think you pulled that off."

"Thanks."

They moved on to working on what had been assigned.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"That totally rocked. I love it," Matt said. "Tell me you kept that jacket. Wait. You made that jacket, didn't you?" He handed Kurt his phone back.

"Sort of. I altered a yellow cotton ladies trench coat. I tailored Sam's suit too. It was a 70s suit with the longer suit jacket length, bigger lapels, pocket flaps, and huge bell bottom trousers."

"Well, they both look amazing."

"Thanks. And I did keep the jacket."

"I may ask to borrow that sometime."

"Sure," Kurt laughed.

They moved on to the monologues Kurt had been working on.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

By the Tuesday before Christmas, Kurt had cheered for and Sam had played in 7 basketball games. Kurt was ready for the season to be over and he wasn't even 1/3 of the way there.

Sue came into Glee rehearsal and asked for them to help out at the local homeless shelter by singing Christmas songs during the annual Christmas dinner. They all agreed to help out.

Mr. Schue came in a few minutes later and told them about a chance to do a live Christmas TV show since the local PBS station had lost the rights to what they had planned to air. Artie was put in charge and everyone started brainstorming. They all headed to the auditorium.

Rachel sang a melancholy wintry song and Artie nixed her song for a spot in the special. Sam got aggravated and got up to leave after Artie said he was rebooting Frosty to be a happy song. Kurt didn't have any interest in fighting Rachel for a lead role that would pair him with Blaine since Finn and Puck were doing some kind of Star Wars thing, which he totally did not understand. He got up and followed Sam.

"Sam, wait up."

Sam slowed down and let Kurt catch up.

"I'm not going to do the Christmas Spectacular or whatever they're calling it. Let's go find Coach Sue and tell her that we'll still help her. I'll get Sebastian and maybe a couple of the Cheerios that can sing to come with us to sing for the Christmas dinner at the homeless shelter."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

There was another basketball game Friday night, which was the day before Christmas Eve. Sebastian came to the game and cheered Sam on and watched Kurt cheer. Tina sat with him.

"Why do you even come to these games, Tina?"

"Oh, it's for my journalism class. 'Sports writing skills.' It's this or hockey. And the Puckheads hate the Gleeks. Plus, the ice rink is on the other side of town."

"I see."

"Why do you come? Doesn't Dalton have a basketball team you could be rooting for?"

"I think so?"

"So you don't care about basketball anymore than I do."

"Not really."

"You like him."

"Wouldn't matter if I did. I'm leaving in a little over five months. I wouldn't do that to someone."

"Doesn't change the fact that you like him."

Sebastian didn't say anything else. He just sat there watching the game. Afterwards, he waited with Kurt by the girls' locker room. Three girls stopped to talk to Kurt.

"This is Kendra, Aileen, and Megan."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sebastian." He reached out and shook hands with each of them.

Sam walked over to them after he had grabbed his stuff.

"Okay, so tomorrow come to my house at 4:00. We'll rehearse these songs."

Sebastian handed them each a stack of music that had been stapled together.

"If any of you can sing harmony that's great, if not don't worry about it. It's supposed to be cheerful and provide entertainment, not be an opera concert. After we practice, we'll eat dinner at my house. I'll have something Coach Sue will let you eat."

They nodded.

"Wear something simple. We're going to a homeless shelter, not a Christmas party or a fashion show. Try to stick to red, green, or cream. We'll go to the shelter at 5:30. We'll entertain from 6:00-7:30."

"Got it," Megan said. "We'll see you three tomorrow."

The three Cheerios walked off.

"How did you convince them?" Sam asked.

"The three of them are Troubletones. I told them that they could put it on their college applications to make them look more well-rounded and caring."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian showered and changed and then waited in Kurt's room while Kurt and Sam showered and changed into their pajamas.

The two of them were surprised to hear flute music when they got out of the shower. Sam went to Kurt's room looking for the source. He found Kurt sitting in his chair listening to Sebastian play.

He quit and put the flute next to him on the bed. "I'm not fabulous, but I'm okay and I thought it might be nice to play a few instrumental pieces, if the two you are interested. I brought a book. It has the piano music with guitar chords marked. "We could try it if you want."

"Sounds like fun. I'll go get my guitar."

"I'll set up the keyboard I have."

Kurt pulled a keyboard, a keyboard stand, a folding music stand, and a folding stool out a storage box under his bed. He took the cover off the keyboard and set it up on the stand facing his window. He popped the bench up and stood the stand up behind the keyboard.

He took the book from Sebastian and looked at it. He chose a song and put the book on the music stand and started to play. Sebastian got up and stood behind him to the left and started to play the melody. Sam came in and stood to Kurt's right and managed to be able to see the book and started to play along. They played through the song once.

"We don't sound half bad," Sam said.

"I think it's pretty decent sounding too," Sebastian said.

"I think we should pick some songs and play through them all and see which ones will work the best," Kurt said. "We'll be able to provide more entertainment without repeating songs we sing this way."

It wasn't too long before Carole had made her way up the stairs following the music she could hear from the master bedroom. She came in and sat in Kurt's chair next to the window.

"Oh, Carole, I'm sorry. Are we disturbing you?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, no, honey. It's really pretty. I came to see where it was coming from. I didn't know Sebastian played the flute."

"Neither did we until tonight," Sam said. "We're going to play Christmas songs as a trio and we've got three girls to sing with us tomorrow evening at the homeless shelter Christmas dinner."

"Well, they will enjoy that. It's lovely. Don't stop on my account." She leaned back and closed her eyes and relaxed.

About 10 minutes later, Burt showed up looking for Carole. He stood in the doorway watching the three boys play and saw Carole in the chair. They had their backs to him, so they didn't notice him until he clapped at the end of the song they were playing.

"That sounded really nice."

"We're playing at the homeless shelter tomorrow night. We're singing too. The three girls will be here tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 to practice."

"That's fine. Why isn't Finn going with you?"

"Oh, the rest of the Glee Club is filming a special for the local PBS station, but we had originally agreed to do the homeless shelter event. They backed out when they had the chance to do the TV special. I didn't like what they were doing and I left. Kurt followed me and then he recruited Sebastian and the three Cheerios."

"I see. We'll I'm sure they'll like listening to you."

"Thanks, Dad."

Burt went back downstairs, but Carole stayed.

"When will you be back home tomorrow evening? We don't want to start without you."

"Before 8:00."

"Alright. We'll start at 8:00 then. You're welcome to stay Sebastian, if you don't already have plans."

"Oh. I don't want to impose. I was just going to go back to my father's afterwards."

"Oh, okay. You need to be there for Christmas morning?"

He didn't answer.

Carole spoke gently to him. "Sebastian, sweetie, is anyone at your father's house?"

"No. They left for Colorado a couple of days ago to spend the school break skiing with my stepmother's family."

"And you didn't want to go?"

"Well, no, I didn't want to go, but I actually wasn't invited."

"What is wrong with your father?"

"I can't answer that question politely."

"I imagine not. Sweetie, please stay with us. I don't know how many clothes you brought, but you can just wash them frequently or you can wear some of Kurt and Sams' things."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely certain."

"Thank you."

Carole got up and pulled him into a hug. "Sweetie, you're always welcome here."

Sebastian fought back tears, but not all that successfully. "Thank you."

She squeezed him again. "Any time. You remember that."

"I will."

She let him go. "I'm going to go get some things ready for the weekend."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The three guys practiced for a little longer, and then Sebastian cleaned the flute and put it away. Sam left his guitar in Kurt's room and headed off to bed.

Right before he got in bed, Kurt got a text from Carole.

"I'll be right back up. You can turn some music on if you want."

"Alright."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went all the way down to the family room to find his dad and Carole waiting for him.

"What's up?"

"Please tell us something that Sebastian would like as a gift."

"He likes French cheese. I've heard him talk about missing it. If you could find some place that sells specialty cheese, I'm sure he'd like that."

"I can do that."

Burt spoke. "I'd like to meet with his father when they get back. I'm going to persuade him to let Sebastian live with us until he goes back to France. Don't tell Sebastian yet. I'm going to talk to Hiram as an attorney, not as a family friend. That way he'll be legally obligated to keep quiet."

"Alright, Dad. He can share my room and I'm fine with that, just so you know."

Burt nodded. "That's it for tonight."

"Okay." Kurt went back upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian had fallen asleep already. Kurt got into bed as gently as possible, trying to keep from waking Sebastian up.

"_Thank you."_

Kurt startled.

"_I didn't mean to make you jump."_

"_I thought you were asleep."_

"_Just lying here thinking."_

"_What were you thanking me for?"_

"_This. Everything. Being here. I'm not alone because of you. Just thank you."_

"_You're welcome."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Alright. Let's get started."

Sam and Sebastian were barely awake. Both were sitting on the stools at the island.

"I thought we were sleeping in?" Sebastian said, more as a question than a statement.

"This is sleeping in. I found that out at Thanksgiving. He usually gets up at 6:00. He let us sleep until 7:30."

"Oh," he said, still not quite awake.

Kurt laughed. "So, we are making a casserole, prepping lasagna, baking cookies, making a chocolate pie, an angelfood cake, and chopping lots of raw vegetables."

"I vote we leave the chopping until my eyes aren't bleary," Sam said. "I want to end our cooking adventure with all of my fingers still attached."

"Good call." Kurt said. "You can be the batter mixer."

"Isn't that what appliances are for?" Sebastian asked.

"Not for cookies. Hand mixing. You can make the filling for the chocolate pie, Bas."

"Bas?" He scrunched his forehead and raised an eyebrow.

"You need a one syllable nickname. Kurt, Sam and …? Seb didn't seem to fit you, so I went with Bas. I've been thinking about this, but if you hate it, I won't use it."

"No, actually it's fine. No one has ever given me a nickname before."

"Oh. Well, now you have one."

"You come to America and you get your first bear hug and a nickname," Sam teased.

"Lucky me." He rolled his eyes up and put his hands on his heart.

"Well, that's true." Kurt said. "I mean you did get the two nicest teen guys in Ohio as friends too."

"And they're not the least bit conceited," he rolled his eyes.

"Not at all. You're the one who said I needed to think more highly of myself."

"That's true. I should watch what I suggest." Sebastian deadpanned.

Kurt hip checked him. "Hey, now."

"Alright. Where's the recipe for this so I can get started?" Sebastian asked, trying not to yawn.

"I need mine too," Sam said.

"I already measured everything for the cookies, Sam." The stuff is all in little bowls behind the mixing bowl and the recipe is on the card right next to the bowl. Maybe you two should go back to bed."

"No, we're fine. Except that this is written in cursive and I can't read it."

"Okay. You two work together on the cookies and I'll do the pie filling."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Once they finally got their brains in gear, Sam and Sebastian were actually useful and they helped get everything prepped. The three of them made themselves lunch and cleaned everything back up.

Once the kitchen was clean and the food was all stored, they went upstairs and got ready.

"Hey Kurt?"

"Yeah, Bas." Kurt answered from the bathroom.

"I don't have anything red, green, or cream colored other than the hoodie I wore last night."

"Oh, just look in my closet and pick something that fits. If you don't find anything, go ask Sam. Although his stuff will probably be a little too big, unless it's a sweater that you can get away with wearing kind of baggy."

Kurt came out and found Sebastian standing in his closet just staring.

"Hey, Bas. Are you okay?" Kurt looked concerned.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He refocused.

"If the sleeves are all too short, you could cuff them a couple of times and no one will notice they're too short. Try this one." He handed Sebastian a red button up with cream pinstripes.

"Thanks."

Kurt turned and walked out of the closet and pushed the door closed to give Sebastian privacy to change his shirt.

He came out a couple of minutes later.

"That looks good. Do you feel okay wearing it? Mostly I see you in your uniform, your pajamas, or that red hoodie you bought to wear to the basketball games."

He went over to Kurt's vanity and looked in the mirror. "Sure. It looks fine, I think."

"Well, tuck it in and let's get downstairs. The girls will be here soon. Do you have any other shoes?"

"No. Is there something wrong with these?"

"I didn't mean to sound condescending. I just thought you might be warmer if you wore something like boots."

"Oh, I don't own any boots."

"We'll go out the day after Christmas and get you some."

"Why?"

"It's going to start snowing at some point and your feet will get cold and wet."

"It doesn't really snow in Paris."

"Well, it does here. Quite a bit."

He finished tucking his shirt in. "Downstairs?"

"Yep."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The doorbell rang at 4:00 and Kurt let the three girls in. Kurt had carried the keyboard down to the dining room and set it up earlier.

Kurt showed them to the dining room and they put their coats on the backs of chairs.

"You all look nice."

"Thanks," they said in unison.

"So, let's just run through the first two verses of all of the songs, and then we'll eat and head over to the shelter." He sat down at the keyboard. "I've not heard the three of you sing by yourselves. So, the first time, I just want the three of you to sing, so I get a feel for your range."

The three girls all sang the melody and could sing high enough to sing the songs in the keys they were written in.

"Great. That sounded really good. So, this time all of us will sing. Sebastian will sing tenor, Sam will sing the baritone part and I will sing alto."

He started the song again and they all sang.

"Wow," Aileen said. "That sounded way better than I expected."

"I think we'll be fine. Let's move on to the next song."

They worked through all of them and at 5:00 the timer went off.

"The three of us made dinner earlier. Go ahead and sit wherever you want and we'll bring it out."

Kurt, Sam, and Sebastian carried out a huge bowl of chopped salad and a platter of additional toppings, and a large pitcher of lemonade. Kurt went back for the salad dressings.

"So, there's white meat chicken and turkey, low fat cheese - cheddar and swiss, low calorie dressings, extra sliced veggies, and lemonade made with stevia – the only calories are from the lemon juice, so like 10 per glass."

"Oh, my God. It's like a feast that we can actually eat," Kendra said. "Be my boyfriend, Kurt. I don't care that you're gay."

The girls started piling salad and toppings onto their plates. After they finished, they guys served themselves.

"I already had a marriage proposal over some baked goods. I'll have to pass, Kendra." Kurt smiled and laughed.

"I'll offer you whatever you were offered, plus anything else you want," she teased. "At least I know you won't be just being nice all evening just to get in my pants."

"Guys just don't get it. Girls are not that hard to please." Megan said. "Just be nice for real. This is nice. You three are nice. How about your Sam? Will you be my boyfriend? You're not seeing Quinn or Santana anymore."

"They kind of burned me on dating a Cheerio girl."

"Oh, well. I tried."

"No offer for me?" Sebastian asked.

"You don't go to McKinley. I can't show you off," Aileen said.

"You mean he lives too far away to make dinners like this for you during the week," Kurt said.

"Well, yeah. Mostly that. You're cute though." Aileen laughed.

"Thanks."

After they finished eating, Kurt packed up the leftovers. Sam ran up to grab his guitar and Sebastian grabbed his flute. Kurt picked up the music book and they all headed to the shelter.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They alternated between singing and playing instrumental pieces. They managed to only repeat a few of the instrumental songs. A lot of the kids ended up sitting on the floor listening to them after they finished eating.

Santa showed up at 7:30 and moved into the area where the teens had been singing.

They all got their coats on and headed toward the door. Sue intercepted them. She nodded and let the three Cheerio girls leave.

"Kurt will be out in a minute." She stopped Kurt.

Sam and Sebastian headed out to the Navigator.

"Is there something else, Coach Sue?"

"No, Porcelain. I just wanted to thank you. You pulled through and everyone enjoyed your entertainment."

"Oh. You're welcome. I'm glad they enjoyed it."

She nodded, indicating that he could leave.


	5. Chapter 5

The three guys walked in the door and were greeted by the smell of melting chocolate and marshmallows. They hung their coats up and found the source in the living room. Finn was sitting in front of the fireplace with a campfire skewer with marshmallows on it stuck in the fire.

"Mmm. Hey, guys. You want one?"

"One what?" Sebastian asked.

"S'more."

"What's a s'more?" Sebastian walked toward where Finn was sitting.

"It's a roasted marshmallow and melted chocolate sandwich with graham crackers for the bread," Finn answered with his mouth full of gooey, chocolatey marshmallow.

"Sure. I'll try one."

"You mean they don't have s'mores in France?" Finn asked still chewing.

"Not that I've ever seen." He took the one that Finn handed him and took a bite. "That's good. Thanks for sharing."

"You're welcome, dude. Mom says you're staying for a while."

"Yeah."

"Cool. There's food in the kitchen if you're hungry. We're going to do our Christmas stuff as soon as Mom realizes that you're back."

"Christmas stuff?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah. Gifts. Parents give out gifts on Christmas Eve and Santa's gifts get opened on Christmas morning."

"I see."

Kurt said, "I'll go tell her that we're here." He left and came back a couple of minutes later.

Carole came in the room. "Before you go upstairs, Sebastian. I want to apologize. I found a few things of Kurt's hanging in the laundry room and I took them up to put in his closet and I knocked your satchel over and it fell off the dresser. I just picked everything up and laid it on the bed."

"It's fine. I'll go put everything back. My computer wasn't in there, so it's not a big deal. I'll find a better place to put it."

Sebastian went upstairs. Kurt followed him.

"We'll make room for all of your stuff tomorrow, okay? It can be my first winter break project."

"Did I hear 'winter break project'?" Sam asked as he came in.

"Yep. He's going to clean his closet out." Sebastian was stacking up his stuff to get it off of the bed. He moved it to the top of the dresser.

"Ooh, that should be fun. Do Bas and I get to watch?" Sam sat down on the bed.

"Why would we want to watch?" Sebastian sat next to him.

"There has got to be a fashion show involved. How else will he decide what to keep and what to get rid of?"

"So, this is like _What Not to Wear_ or something?"

"Or something. I've heard about some of the stuff he used to wear. Do you still have the corset and the skirts?"

Kurt didn't answer.

"He must still have them," Sam said excitedly.

"Well, then this will be a lot more fun than I had anticipated. What about the 10-inch heels and the Lady Gaga dress?" Sebastian asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"I heard about that. Is there a video?"

"There is, I've seen it."

"I need to see it." Sam said plaintively.

"Why?" Kurt asked looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Because I bet it's amazing. And you let Sebastian see it," he said sounding like a pouting 6-year old whose sibling got to do something he didn't.

"Fine. I'll show you, but then we have to go downstairs." Kurt turned his phone on, pulled up the video, and handed the phone to Sam.

He sat and watched it and Sebastian leaned over trying to rewatch it.

"That was awesomely impressive." Sam said, "I would break my neck in one step."

"You totally rocked that, you know," Sebastian said.

"Thanks?"

"We still need to work on him saying 'thanks' or 'thank you' without that upswing at the end," Sebastian said to Sam, as if Kurt couldn't hear him.

Kurt rolled his eyes. He took his phone and put it back in his pocket.

Sam nodded and smiled. "Let's go before Carole gets frustrated with us."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Okay, boys. All of you sit in front of the tree."

They moved and sat like she wanted them to, and she took their picture.

"Kurt, show me how to do that timer thing again. Burt, go stand in front of the tree. Everyone else, stand up and rearrange. And leave room for me and Kurt." Kurt set the timer up and he and Carole got into place before the flash went off. "Don't move." She went and looked at the photo. "One more." They looked at the camera and smiled. She checked it again. "That's one's good. You all can sit wherever."

Carole distributed the gift bags. Each bag had gifts wrapped individually inside it.

"So, alphabetical or youngest to oldest?" she asked.

"You choose, Mom."

"Alright, oldest to youngest."

"That means, I go first," Sam said. He ripped the paper off the first one. "An _Avatar_ t-shirt. Awesome!" He opened the next one carefully because it felt like it might be glass. "Oh, wow. Thank you!" Carole had framed the picture she had taken of the Evans family at Thanksgiving. The last thing he opened was a stack of index cards. He had a puzzled look on his face at first, then a huge smile. "Thank you. These are amazing."

"What are they?" Sebastian asked.

"She printed the recipes for my favorite foods that she makes."

"That's nice," Sebastian said.

"I'm next." Kurt started to open his first gift. "It's the brooch from the antique store that I liked. Thank you." He opened the next item. "You found it?" he squealed as he unfolded a piece of fabric. "I'm so excited!" He opened the last thing in his bag, which was an old iPod. "Oh, my God. You found one of the 160GB ones." You are the best gift giver in the whole universe." He jumped up and hugged Carole. "Thank you! I love all of it."

"You're welcome."

"You're next Sebastian," Kurt said as he went back to his spot. He was the only one who knew that Sebastian's birthday was in July.

Sebastian opened his bag and took out the smallest package first. He opened it. "This is really nice. Thank you. You didn't have to get me anything, really."

"I wanted to. When I knocked your bag over on the way into the closet, all of your pens and pencils fell out and your earbuds too."

"The case is perfect. Now I won't be fishing for something to write with or get my cord all tangled because they have their own little section." He put the pencil case back in his bag and took out the next item. He unwrapped it and laughed. "It's perfect. I'm eating some of this tonight." He opened the last package. "It's just what I needed. Thank you."

"Well, that came about from the accident as well. All of your papers went everywhere. I figured you could use a binder with some dividers and pockets."

"The gifts are perfect. Thank you. I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you two."

"Oh, the grown ups give each other gifts," Finn said. "We have to do something nice for them as our gifts. You can think of something and write it out tonight. They get them at breakfast."

"Oh, okay. Thank you for the gifts."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

"Finally, it's my turn." Finn opened his gifts. "Yes! I know what I'm doing tomorrow." He held up the video game he had asked for so the other guys could see it. He opened his other gift. "Awesome!" It was some kind of guidebook for the video game. "Thanks!"

Carole said, "Let's go down and watch a Christmas movie. I have snacks for Finn and there are the left over veggies from dinner for Kurt and Sam. Sebastian, you're welcome to eat whatever you'd like."

"I'm going to snack on this cheese. I'll go slice it up first, if that's okay."

"Sure, sweetie. Just put whatever you want on a plate and bring it down. I already took the rest of the food downstairs."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When Kurt came out of the bathroom after showering, he found Sebastian sitting at his desk with piece of lined paper in front of him, just sitting there staring into space while tapping the eraser against the paper.

"I don't know what to offer. Give me an idea of what this is about."

"Oh, well Finn is the one who had this tradition. Since he had never had a job, he never had his own money. So, rather than Carole give Finn money to buy her a present, she always had him do something for her as her gift. They've been doing it since he was a little kid. I guess originally it was just something like 'I'll make your bed for a week'."

"Okay. And now?"

"Well, last year, I gave her a spa day and makeover, plus lunch."

"What did Finn give her?"

"I think it was cleaning her car out, like detailing it and vacuuming it."

"I see."

"She dislikes vacuuming and dusting. You could offer that. Or you could offer to reorganize the downstairs freezer. She hates that because her hands get so cold."

"What are you giving her?"

"I'm going to tailor some clothes for her that she bought, but never wears because they don't fit quite right."

"What about your dad?"

"Usually I just cook him something he wants."

"What could I offer him?"

"We could add something to mine and say it's from both of us."

"Like what?"

"Well, there's this bush that died out front, but I can't get it out by myself, but if you helped me, we could do it together."

"Sure. I can do that."

"Okay." Kurt grabbed an envelope off his shelf and opened it. "Can I sit there for a minute?"

Sebastian stood up.

Kurt pulled out some markers. He added the new "gift" to what he had already written on the card. "Now, you just need to sign the card too."

Kurt got up and let Sebastian sit down again. He signed the card and handed it back to Kurt. He pulled the sheet of paper back over so he could start to write on it.

"You don't have to use a sheet of paper. I have plenty of Christmas cards you can choose from. I bought a box of 20 last year after Christmas for 80% off." Kurt grabbed the box off the shelf and put it on the desk for Sebastian.

Sebastian looked through them. He chose one and handed the box back to Kurt.

"You can use the markers if you want."

"Thanks." Sebastian wrote on the card and put it in the envelope and wrote "Carole" on the outside and left it on the desk. "So, to sleep now?"

"Yep."

Kurt turned the lights out and they both lay down.

"So, Santa brings presents during the night. Isn't Finn a little old to believe in Santa?"

"Well, truth be told, Santa generally just brings clothes. But since I didn't ask for any clothes, and my dad knows I've not been shopping anymore, I have no idea what to expect."

"I guess we'll find out in the morning."

"Yeah."

"I want to tell you something."

"Okay."

"You don't need to rearrange your closet for me."

"Why?"

"I just need to not leave my satchel on your dresser. All of my clothes are already in your closet and in the drawer you let me have in your dresser. I don't need any more space."

"I figured we'd go to your father's house they day after Christmas after we go boot shopping and bring the rest of your clothes here."

"There's nothing that's personally mine at his house, except a suit, shirt and tie, and dress shoes that he keeps there."

"Okay. Then we don't need to go there."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Sam, Kurt, and Sebastian helped Carole make breakfast. Finn and Burt just sat up to the small island and kept them company, knowing that any help they offered would not be accepted. Finn did set the table when the food was nearly done.

Once everything was done, the food was carried into the dining room. They all sat down and the platters got passed around and everyone took what they wanted.

They all ate until they were full, which wasn't until after several plates of food for Finn. Kurt and Sam cleared the food once Finn had taken his last plateful.

Once he finished, he got up and helped the other three clear the table.

Their cards were distributed and opened. Burt and Carole thanked all four of them for the gifts.

They moved to the living room to continue with their celebration.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam opened Santa's presents to him first. "Santa's awesome. He got me the three of the CDs I had been wanting."

Finn opened his next. "Santa obviously opened a music store this year because he got me the CDs I wanted as well. These are great."

Sebastian opened an envelope. Inside it there was a $50 bill and a note. "I'm sorry I don't know what type of CDs you'd like, but you can buy three you want with this money. Merry Christmas! Love, Santa." Sebastian smiled and nodded after he read it.

"I got CDs too." Kurt said. "Santa did a good job."

"Well, the rest of the day is to do whatever you want. Relax, watch movies, listen to the CDs, or whatever. We'll eat what was prepped yesterday and I'll bake the lasagna later."

She stood up and hugged each one of the boys as they walked past her. She gave Sebastian an extra long hug. "Merry Christmas, sweetie," she said in his ear. She could hear him sniffle.

"Thanks," he whispered.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian went right up to Kurt's room and sat down on his bed, holding the envelope in his hand. Kurt came up a couple of minutes later.

"Bas, is there something wrong?"

"Everything and nothing." He put the envelope next to him on the bed.

Kurt waited for him to continue.

Sebastian propped his elbows on his lap and put his head down, and started crying silently.

"It's okay." Kurt wrapped his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and pulled him toward him.

"Do you think she would mind if I use the money to buy boots instead?"

"No, not at all."

"Okay. Good. Do you think I can get some for $50 that will work?"

"I'm not sure, Bas. But I'll give you the rest of what you need."

"You've already done so much for me. I can't ask you for money."

"You're not asking. I'm offering. I have a present for you too." Kurt walked over to the closet, went inside, and grabbed a box. He walked back over to the bed and handed it to Sebastian.

"I don't have anything to give you." He sat up straight and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"That's okay. Open it."

Sebastian unwrapped the box and lifted the lid. Inside there was a beautiful black and green scarf with a pair of black leather Thinsulate-lined gloves.

"The scarf matches your eyes and your pea coat. I've never seen you wear any gloves, so I thought maybe you hadn't gotten any yet."

"You're right. I don't have a scarf or gloves." He took the gloves out and tried them on. "They're really nice. They fit perfectly. Thank you." He took them off and laid them next to him and pulled the scarf out. "It's really soft."

Kurt took it from him and looped it and put it over his head and tightened it a little.  
"It looks good on you."

"Thank you. I'm sorry I don't have a gift for you." He ran his fingers over the soft scarf.

"It's fine, really. I'm not upset. I just wanted you to be warm."

He slipped the scarf off and folded it neatly and sat it next to him as well. "I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anyone."

"I won't tell anyone else unless you say I can."

"The clothes and the two pairs of shoes I brought with me is all I have."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have anything else at Dalton. You've seen everything I own. The duffle, the satchel, the laptop, my phone, my coat, my clothes and shoes that are here – that's all that I have. Oh, and my camera."

"That's just two pairs of jeans, the rugby shirt, a blue button up shirt, and the red hoodie."

"Yep, well and the socks and underwear and the two pairs of pajamas that I brought."

"I'm confused. Your father owns a mansion and you only have enough clothes for two days besides the hoodie you bought?"

"Yeah. And I had to do something I didn't want to do to get the money to buy the hoodie."

"Oh, God. What did you do?"

"Don't panic. I just wrote a paper for someone. He offered me $50 to do it. I won't do it again. I'm sorry. I just couldn't show up to the basketball game in the same rugby shirt again. I figured if I got the red hoodie I could wear it every game and it would seem like school spirit rather than lack of clothes."

"You wear $150 shoes to school. The belt you have is like $90. And that satchel is like $500."

"All for show. I wear those things where people who might know my father could be. So, he bought me nice school shoes, nice athletic shoes because I needed a pair to wear in the gym, the expensive belt and satchel everyone sees every day. The duffle is so I can pack stuff to go home on the weekends that he requires my presence."

"How do you get gas money then?"

"You don't want to know." Sebastian looked away from Kurt and stared at the floor.

Kurt wrapped both arms around Sebastian. "Please tell me you're not selling yourself."

"No, oh, God, no. It's illegal, but it's not that. I got a cut on the fake IDs, but I quit. I promise. I'm sorry." He was sobbing.

"It's okay, Bas. Can you tell me why?"

"My father won't give me any money unless I agree to voluntarily go to conversion therapy or date a girl that he sets me up with."

"And what do you get if you agree?"

"$1000 a month spending limit on a credit card, $500 cash per month, and a gas card."

"Wow."

"I can't lead a girl on and I'm not going to conversion therapy. So, I'm penniless."

"The night you went to Scandals, I thought you were crashing at a motel."

"I was just careful with what I said, which was that I was crashing in Lima. I slept in my car and drove back to Dalton when I woke up. The building opens back up at 7:00 on weekdays."

"I remember."

"So, you push people away with your bristly fake persona to keep people from finding out that you can't do anything with them because you have no money."

"Exactly."

"Will you please let me tell my dad?"

"Why?"

"How about we go together and I'll let him tell you."

"Um, let me go wash my face."

"Okay."

Kurt didn't manage to hold his own tears back. When Sebastian came back out of the bathroom, Kurt was standing and waiting for him. He pulled him into a hug and held him tight. Sebastian hesitated, but eventually wrapped his arms around Kurt and held on tight for a bit. Kurt let loose and Sebastian stepped back.

"Do you not like it when I hug you? My dad was always big on hugs when I was upset. He'd wrap me in his arms and I'd feel like everything would be okay, even if it was just for a few minutes."

"I do like it. It's just unusual."

"Oh. Because I'm a guy?"

"No, just because I've never really been hugged."

"Not even your mom?"

"My mother isn't exactly maternal."

"Let's go talk to my dad."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt knocked on his parents' bedroom door.

Burt opened the door.

"Can we talk to you in your office?"

"Sure. What about Carole?"

Sebastian nodded.

"Carole, sweetheart, come here."

Carole came to the door. They both came out and opened the door to the office and they all went in. Burt locked the door behind him so there wouldn't be the possibility of someone walking in.

Kurt sat down on the leather loveseat and patted the space next to him to get Sebastian to sit there. "Sebastian told me some things today that are really messed up."

Burt walked around and sat in his desk chair. Carole stood behind him, leaning on her elbows on the back of the chair.

"Alright." Burt said. "Do you want to tell us?"

"Not really, but, yes - sort of." He looked at his clasped hands in his lap.

"Sweetie, why don't you start wherever you want and tell us whatever you want to. We'll just listen," Carole said sweetly.

"Okay. Well, yesterday Kurt asked me if I had any boots since I was wearing my school shoes. I told him 'no' and he suggested we go out tomorrow and get some. I know he thought I didn't have any because I didn't realize that I would actually need any. Then, when we went back upstairs this morning, I asked him if he thought it would upset you if I used the $50 to buy boots instead of CDs."

He took a deep breath and sighed. "I don't have any money. I have enough left to put gas in my car one more time. That's it." He looked up to see their reactions.

Carole looked confused.

"I didn't blow it gambling or something. My father won't give me any money. He bought me nice school shoes, nice trainers for the gym, a nice belt, the satchel, the duffle, the laptop, and the expensive pea coat. Kurt noticed that I hadn't been wearing gloves. He gave me a scarf and gloves when we were upstairs. I wasn't wearing any because I didn't have any."

"I don't understand, sweetie. Your dad has plenty of money."

"But I don't deserve any of it yet. I've been here over four months and I'm still gay."

"Sweetie, you don't get over being gay. It's not like having the flu."

"I know. But he thinks it's because of the way my mother raised me. I use that term loosely. I came out to her last summer and she was fine with it, but she told him and within a month, I was on a plane to central Ohio being put on the straight and narrow path to not being gay."

"I'm lost, sweetie."

Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment and steeled himself to tell his story. "My father was on a vacation in France after he graduated from law school – a graduation gift from his parents. He met my mother. They had a fling. He made the unfortunate mistake of telling her his real name and where he was from. When she realized that she was pregnant a few months later, it was too late to get an abortion. She put his name on the birth certificate and found a way to contact him. She blackmailed him into paying support for me. He bought the flat I grew up in for her from his own trust fund. He paid child support, which she used to cover our expenses. Daycare in France is free and she put me in the day I turned two. She left me there the maximum number of hours a day she could. She put me in before- and after-school care once I turned 6. The school year I turned 11, she enrolled me in boarding school and I was only home 8 weeks each summer. Once I went to boarding school, she rented my room out to a college student so that she wouldn't have to start to work since he didn't give her money for me because he paid the boarding school fees. I never went to the best schools, but I went to a private what you would call middle school and high school with good teachers. Every summer, her boarder would leave since school was out and I'd work to cover my own expenses and hers too since I couldn't just let her starve. After she told him I was gay, he asked for me to be sent here to finish high school. She wasn't going to get another penny from him. The gig was up. She kept the flat and she still has a boarder that keeps her from having to work. When I go back at the end of May, I'll have to sleep on the couch or find somewhere else to stay until July when school gets out. I'll have to work in order for my room to be mine again, but college is virtually free in France, so I'll be okay."

Carole had been crying since Sebastian said that his mom left him in childcare as much as possible at age two. Kurt didn't last much longer.

Burt looked incredulous. "I'm still a little lost back at the part where you said you've been here for over four months and your dad wants you to be straight or he won't give you any money?"

"If I agree to date a girl of his choosing or I voluntarily agree to go to conversion therapy, I will get $1000 a month on a credit card, $500 in cash, and a gas card. Until I agree to one of those things, I get nothing. Well, I get to stay at Dalton and live there and eat."

"We've seen everything he owns - the two outfits, his pajamas, the two pairs of shoes, the coat, the duffel, the satchel, his belt, his laptop and phone. He doesn't have anything else at Dalton or his father's house. His papers and pens were loose in his bag because he doesn't have any folders or binders."

"I've done things I'm ashamed of to get the cash I had to have to buy a few things like soap and shampoo, the paper, pens, and pencils, and put gas in my car. And I did buy the red hoodie."

"Why can't you just get a job and work after school or on the weekends?" Burt asked.

"My father has all of my legal documents locked in a safe in his office. Without them, I can't apply for a job. I tried back in September."

"I see."

"And Kurt just wouldn't let me be. He kept being nice. I managed to push everyone away, but him and Jeff. Jeff just kept trying to get me to sit with him and a few other guys. I gave in so that he'd stop pestering me. But once I gave in, then he started inviting me to do stuff with them. But every time I do anything with any of those guys, I have to do something I wouldn't normally do to get the money to do it."

"I'm going to ask you something and then Carole and I will leave for a few minutes to give you time to think."

Sebastian nodded and wiped his face with his hands.

"Do you want to live with us? I don't generally give allowances, but I will make an exception until we can figure out something you can do to earn money legally. You can think about it while Carole and I go talk for a few minutes."

Burt and Carole got up and left, closing the door behind them.

"I can't say 'yes' and be a burden to your family. They're already so nice to me."

"Bas, my dad doesn't make willy-nilly decisions. He meant it. Do you want to live with us? You'll have to share my room with me unless Sam moves in with me. You'd have to share a bathroom with Finn then. Finn won't share a room with me. That's why we had to buy this house. If you don't want to share a bed, we can work on getting two twin beds and arranging the room differently."

Sebastian slouched over and propped his head on his hands. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you care so much?"

"I'm not sure I have an answer for that. We're just decent people."

"I guess I've just not met that many decent people then."

"Maybe."

"Are you sure?" He turned and looked at Kurt. "You'd be giving up your privacy and your personal space."

"I'm sure. I had already told my dad that I was willing to share my room with you."

Sebastian looked puzzled.

"He told me that he wanted you to live with us night before last after you said you would be going home to an empty house."

"Oh."

"I didn't spring this on him. He didn't offer because of what you just told him. He was already going to talk to your father whenever he gets back and offer to let you live here. But I think it's really just a matter of what you want."

"If Burt goes to my father, he's likely to disown me."

"Is that a problem?"

"He'll probably refuse to pay my tuition next semester and take away my car and phone."

"I see."

"Let's go do something else for a while. I need to let my choices bounce around in my head for a while."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt rounded up Sam and Finn for some Mario Kart races. Sebastian didn't know how to play, so Kurt gave him a quick lesson. They played as teams – Kurt and Sebastian against Sam and Finn. They raced and smack talked and raced more.

Eventually they all got hungry and went up to the kitchen to eat. They found that Carole had put the casserole in the oven to warm it up when they went down to play, so it was ready to eat. They helped themselves and carried their plates into the dining room to eat. They loaded the dishwasher and Kurt turned it on. He let Carole know that they had eaten before he went back upstairs.

Kurt went down the hallway to his room and found Sebastian lying on his side in the bed, looking at his phone and crying. He walked toward the bed and Sebastian pulled his knees up tighter making room for Kurt to sit. Kurt put his hand on Sebastian's knee.

"I want to stay."

"I'm glad. Why are you crying?"

"It's 9:00 at night in Paris and I didn't even get a Merry Christmas text or email. I mean she's never bought me gifts or anything, but I thought maybe she'd…" He was crying too much to continue for a few minutes. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down. "Nothing from my father either."

"Well, I'm glad you're here with me."

"You're not just saying that because you feel sorry for me, are you?"

"I bought the gloves two weeks ago. I invited you here having no idea that you had not been invited to go skiing. I didn't know most of that stuff about your mother until earlier today. I invited you because I wanted to."

"Alright. I never told you because I knew you'd feel sorry for me and I didn't want you to befriend me out of pity."

"I didn't befriend you out of pity. I actually like you as a human being, as crazy as that is." He grabbed Sebastian's phone. "Enough moping. You have stupid parents. You didn't pick them. It's not your fault they are the way they are."

"You're right. I've always tried to be a good son. I wanted them to like me. I did well in school. I stayed out of trouble. Doing the illegal things only started when I got here and got desperate. I'll stop. I promise. I already stopped with the IDs. I stopped after that day in the café."

"Oh."

"I felt like what happened to you was my fault. If I hadn't gotten him an ID and let him drink, he wouldn't have done that to you."

"Well, honestly, I'm glad I found out his true nature sooner than later. I let myself be drawn in by what I wanted to see rather than what was actually there. I'm not glad that he did what he did because that was scary. But I'm glad I learned that I can defend myself and I can have enough self-respect to walk away from someone who doesn't respect me."

"So, you don't blame me?" Sebastian sat up and scooted up in the bed until he was leaning against the headboard, and he pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around his legs.

"Of course not. You didn't try to force me to do something I didn't want to do. He had shown his inability to make proper decisions when drinking before. He knew better than to drink. He made a choice to drink to the point of getting drunk. And he made a choice to attempt to coerce me to do something I wasn't prepared or ready to do, which had absolutely nothing to do with you. And even though someone else suggested it to him, he made a choice to act on that suggestion in an inappropriate way. Let's please never talk about this again, okay? It's over. I never once even considered blaming you for what happened."

"Alright. I believe you and I won't bring it up again."

"Thank you." Kurt got up and moved to sit next to Sebastian at the head of the bed.

"I want to stay, but I don't want to confront my father. Does that make me a coward?"

"No. It makes you human. I don't think most people feel comfortable confronting people they perceive to have a position of power over them. I guess the question comes down to how much do you want his money?"

"Well, when I came, I was under the impression that the trust fund would be mine when I graduated from Dalton, but the longer I've been here and the longer he's held out on giving me even a tiny allowance to even buy things like a school supplies, the more I think that he's got something written into the fine print that's going to prevent me from claiming the trust fund."

"Like what?"

"I'm thinking that it probably says that I have to get married before I get it. I'm not going to marry a girl just to get the money. If that's part of the fine print, it probably says that she has to sign a pre-nup preventing her from getting any of the money if we divorce."

"My dad is going to bring a lawyer with him, so that should be able to be determined pretty quickly. We can brainstorm on ways for you to get money legally. I'm sure Hiram can figure out a way to force your father to give you your documents back. At the end of the school year, you can just go your own way. You can go back to France or stay in the States, or whatever you want to do."

"I don't even know anymore. I've lived so many years trying to be what I thought I needed to be and just trying to survive that I don't even know what I want. Other than I like being here with you, with your family. I've never been welcomed like this. I like being here."

"Well, then stay. Make that the first priority."

"Okay. I'll keep thinking."

"Do you want me to let you think alone?"

"Stay."

Kurt grabbed the book he had been reading off the shelf and propped his pillow up and sat next to Sebastian while he spent time thinking.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole called all of them down for dinner at 7:00. They guys set the table and carried the lasagna and salad to the table.

Carole dished out everyone servings since the dish was hot from the oven. The salad got passed around and everyone helped themselves.

"Finn, no salad, no dessert."

"Right. Pass the salad back this way, please."

Kurt laughed. "I see you must want some pie."

"There's pie too? Awesome! All I saw was the angelfood cake."

"There's pie too. I made it yesterday while Sam and Sebastian made cookies"

"Wait, there's cookies too? How much salad do I have to eat to have all three, Mom?" Finn was holding the salad bowl still.

"A little more."

Finn put more on his plate and looked at her.

"Fine. That's good."

Finn smiled and chomped down the salad to get it over with.

There was no lasagna left by the time they had finished. The salad had been demolished as well. Sebastian got up to help Kurt clear the table.

"Will you take the desserts in and put them on the table?"

"Sure."

Kurt stayed in the kitchen and washed up the pan the lasagna had been baked in, wiped out the oven, cleaned the top of the stove, and washed the salad bowl. He was drying it when Sebastian came back in.

"Aren't you going to come have dessert with us?"

"Nah. I'm too full, but I'm almost done and I'll come sit with everyone."

He put the salad bowl away and dried the lasagna dish and put it away too. He went in and sat down next to Sebastian.

"How did the pie come out?"

"It's fantastic. Are you sure you don't want some?"

"I'm sure. Maybe later."

"Okay."

"Hey, Kurt," Finn said.

"Yeah?"

"All of the desserts are great."

"I'm glad you like them."

When everyone had finished, Kurt got up again to clear the table.

"Honey, you've done plenty. Finn, you clear the table and load the dishwasher and turn it on."

"Yes, Mom." Finn grabbed some plates and carried them into the kitchen.

Kurt said, "I'm going to go ahead and get ready for bed. I'm going to listen to the CDs and go to sleep early. I'm thinking of going out and braving the after Christmas shopping madness after my voice and acting lesson tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight, kiddo. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dad."

Carole followed him through the kitchen and then went to the master bedroom. A few minutes later, Kurt heard a knock on his door.

"Come in."

"Hey, honey. I want you to take Sebastian with you and get him some new clothes - even if you can only convince him to shop at Goodwill. He needs more than two pairs of jeans and three shirts. Get him at least two more pairs of jeans, a pair of slacks, and four or five more shirts." She handed him $200. "If you spend more than that, just pay for it yourself and I'll reimburse you. That's all the cash I've got right now."

"I'll try." Kurt put the money in his wallet.

Sebastian came in the room. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, sweetie. I just needed to tell Kurt something. I hope you had a nice Christmas. We enjoy having you here." She walked over to him and hugged him briefly and walked out of the room and back downstairs.

"She's very sweet."

"She really is. She's been really good for my dad. He was really lonely. Having me for a son didn't make him popular around town. I mean as a business owner, he's respected because he's fair and honest. But people will hand over their cars to be repaired a lot easier than they will invite you to do things with them. His buddies are mostly the guys that work in the shop or guys he's known forever."

Sebastian shut the door.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure. Do you want to shower first and get our pajamas on or talk now?"

"We can get ready for bed first. Go ahead and shower."

Kurt finished and they traded places.

Sebastian came out of the bathroom, but just barely - where Kurt couldn't see him from where he was sitting.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgot to ask before I came in here. Can I wear some of your pajamas? I didn't think about doing laundry, but I should have done it today. I've worn everything I have."

"Sure." He got up and got some out and went over to the bathroom door. "Stick your hand out." Kurt stuck the pajamas in Sebastian's hand.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

A couple of minutes later, Sebastian came out.

"You can run your stuff down to the washer now, if you want. We can talk while they wash."

"Um. Sure." Sebastian grabbed all of his clothes. "Will you come with me? I don't want to mess anything up."

"Sure. I'll show you how they work."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Kurt sat on the end of his bed cross-legged facing the head of the bed.

"I've decided that I want to stay." Sebastian sat down and scooted back against the head of the bed.

"Stay?"

"I mean stay here with you and your family."

"Good." Kurt smiled.

Sebastian smiled back.

"When are your father and stepmother coming back?"

"Not until Friday of this coming week, the 30th."

"Alright. We can tell my dad later and he can get things set up. Will you come with me and Sam in the morning? I have my voice and acting lesson. We'll take Sam on to Kentucky and then go back in Cincinnati. After my lessons, we'll go shopping."

"Alright, if you want me to."

"I do. Or if you want, I can just let Sam take the Navigator to Kentucky and we can go to Cincinnati in your car. He's going to be gone this week to visit his family. He'd probably enjoy having a vehicle to drive when he's there. It would give him more options of things to do with his brother and sister."

"That's fine too." He was hesitant though.

"I'll pay for the gas. They're my lessons."

"Alright."

"Let me go tell Sam. He won't have to leave quite so early."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt knocked on Sam's door. He had grabbed the gifts he had in his room on his way out.

Sam said, "Come in."

"Oh, hey Kurt. What are those?"

"Well, this one is for you. And those two are for Stevie and Stacey." He sat the two boxes on the bed and handed Sam the smaller box.

Sam opened the box. "Those are totally cool. _Avatar_ blue guitar picks with words in Na'vi on them. You totally rock." Sam hugged him.

"So, I came to tell you that you can take the Navigator to Kentucky and keep it all week."

"What?" He looked up quickly from checking out the guitar picks.

"Sebastian is staying until school starts again. So, you can take the Navigator. That way you can try to find some free or inexpensive fun things to do with Stevie and Stacey while your mom and dad are working."

"Thanks. Are you sure? I mean, I know you let me drive it around town, but…"

"No 'buts', Sam. I trust you. You're a good driver. It's insured. It's just an SUV. It's just a possession."

"I know you love that Nav. You call it your 'baby.'"

"But you're my friend. Friends are a lot more important than vehicles. I'm sorry I didn't spend as much time with you today as I had planned to."

"It's okay. I know something's going on with Bas, but he's keeping it close to the vest. I'm good. My family loves me. They didn't ditch me for the holidays. I came here with their blessing and I know that, for whatever reason, Bas stayed. It's okay. I'm not depressed or jealous. Sometimes people need people they can trust to get through something really rough. He'll tell me if and when he wants to."

"You're awesome. You know that, right?"

"Of course, I do. And so are you. Stay there." Sam got up and grabbed a large envelope and handed it to Kurt.

He opened it. "Oh, Sam. It's beautiful. Thank you!" He slipped it back into the envelope. He stood up and hugged Sam. "I love it."

"Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"Merry Christmas. Enjoy your week with your family. You can sleep in a bit in the morning since you won't have to leave with me at 6:30."

"Nope. Still gotta go early. Mom's going in an hour late waiting for me to get there to watch the rugrats."

"Alright. Then I'll let you get to sleep too. Good night."

"'Night."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went back down the hallway to his room and laid the envelope on his dresser.

"Come on. I'll show you the dryer settings."

Sebastian followed him downstairs.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why the rugby shirt? It's not really you."

"Oh. Well, I didn't know what to pick. There were lots of them at the store we went to. I just assumed they were really popular here and would make me look 'normal', so I grabbed one and I got the pale blue button up because I thought it was a good compromise between dressy and casual and since I was only allowed to pick two outfits, that's what I went with. I thought it was like a first shopping trip – not an only shopping trip."

Kurt let it drop and explained the dryer settings.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Come in here with me." Kurt motioned Sebastian to the closet. "The red shirt with the pinstripes looks really good on you. It's yours if you want it."

"Do you not like it?"

"I like it better on you." He smiled. He looked a the sleeve length on the shirts hanging in his closet and pulled out the ones with the longest sleeves, putting back the ones that he thought were too him and not at all Sebastian. He had three left. "Do you like any of these?"

"I'll wear anything obviously evidenced by the rugby shirt."

"This isn't about what you'll tolerate. I want you to wear things you actually like from now on. We don't have to go to a store and spend $40 a shirt, but Goodwill has nice ones if you go to bigger towns. I've gotten a lot of my high-end shirts for $3.99 each. So, just because one of these is a Tommy Hilfiger shirt doesn't mean I paid retail for it. I paid $3.99 for it. You can like it or not. My feelings won't be hurt. I just have like 25 shirts in here and you currently have 2. It makes no sense. It's only long-sleeve weather like 200 days out of the year. If I wore each of these shirts once before rewearing any and kept doing that, I'd only wear each one 8 times a year."

"You are very persuasive and kind. I like all three of them. They're very nice. I'll try them on and give you a fashion show."

Kurt turned to step out of the closet.

"You don't have to leave for me to try on a shirt."

"Okay." He stayed with his back turned, but stayed in the closet.

Sebastian just shook his head and smiled. He buttoned the first one up. "What do you think?"

Kurt turned around and checked the sleeve length, the fit through the shoulders, and the body length. "It looks good. Go see if you like it."

Sebastian humored him and went and looked in the vanity mirror. "I look mah-va-lous, dah-ling."

Kurt laughed. "Try the other two on Zsa Zsa."

Sebastian repeated the process twice and gave all of them a thumbs up.

"Alright. Pick one of them to wear tomorrow. Your stuff will be done by the time we get downstairs."

They went down and came back up.

"So, we're leaving at 6:30." Sebastian stepped in the closet to hang his shirts up and put the jeans on the shelf.

"What was in the envelope? Or is it personal?"

"It's my awesome Christmas gift from Sam." Kurt opened the envelope and pulled out a watercolor of the three of them at the homeless shelter.

"Oh, wow. It's fantastic. He's really good." Sebastian started folding his clothes.

"He is. We'll get a frame for it tomorrow. And a couple more pairs of jeans and button ups for you and some undershirts. It gets really cold here in the winter. And of course, some good boots."

"That sounds like a lot of money."

"We'll stop at a couple of Goodwill stores first. What we don't find there, we'll look for in a store in the outlet mall in Cincinnati. There are big sales tomorrow. At Goodwill jeans are like $6, and the button ups are $4 like I said, and the undershirts are $1. So, we could potentially get all of that stuff for under $40, plus the cost of the boots."

"Alright." Sebastian put his clothes in the dresser.

"And I'm taking you some place fun too."

"Intriguing."

"Sleep?" Kurt pushed Sebastian into the bed.

"Sleep." Sebastian managed to grab Kurt and pull him down with him.

"Let me up or we have to sleep with the light on."

"Fine, fine."

Kurt got up, turned the light off and got back in bed.

"Merry Christmas, Bas."

"It definitely was. Best Christmas ever."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam knocked really lightly.

"Come in, Sam."

"I just wanted to say bye to you two. I'm heading out."

Kurt walked over and hugged him. "Have fun. See you Friday."

"Have a good time, Sam."

Sam waved and walked out.

"Can I bring this with us?" He was holding a book he pulled off Kurt's shelf.

"Sure."

"I started it and it's pretty interesting and I need something to do for two hours while you have your lessons."

"I figured you'd come in with me. It's too cold to sit in your car for two hours."

"Well, sure, I'll come inside the building, but I'll just wait somewhere out of the way and read this."

"Okay. Let's get going."

They headed downstairs quietly to the kitchen. Sebastian made them some scrambled eggs while Kurt fixed them coffee in travel mugs. He made tea to drink with his breakfast and poured Sebastian a glass of orange juice.

"You don't like orange juice?"

"I do, but tea sounded nice."

Sebastian plated their eggs. He got out a couple of slices of the cheese that Carole had given him and put one on Kurt's plate. He saw Kurt pause, but he went ahead and tried it.

"It's good. Thank you for letting me try some."

"You're welcome." He smiled at Kurt, pleased that he had something to share this time.

They finished eating quickly. Sebastian put the plates in the dishwasher while Kurt washed the skillet. He handed it to Sebastian to dry and put away. Kurt picked up the travel mugs and handed one to Sebastian. Kurt grabbed the two disposable storage containers with cookies in them and headed to the front door through the dining room. He sat everything down on the table at the end of the room and went around the corner to grab his coat, scarf, and gloves.

"Oh, I'll be right back." Sebastian sat his mug down and went back upstairs and came right back down. "I hadn't worn them yet so they were still upstairs. Now, they can just stay with my coat." He slipped the scarf on and put his coat on, and then put the gloves on.

"Perfect. The scarf looks great on you and now your hands will be warm while you drive." Kurt opened the door and let Sebastian go through. He locked it behind them. "That's the other thing we need to do today – get another set of keys made so you can get in the house and lock it up when you leave."

Sebastian smiled. He unlocked the car, got in, and started the car up. He reached back and laid the book in the backseat.

Kurt put the cookies and his satchel in the backseat and then got in the front. Once he was in and his seatbelt was on, Sebastian backed out of the driveway and they were on their way to Cincinnati.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They spent the whole drive talking. Once Kurt knew some of Sebastian's story and hadn't dropped him like a hot coal or treated him like an injured puppy, Sebastian's outlook had changed and he relaxed. They talked about everything it seemed. Kurt opened up to him about what living in Lima had been like for him. Sebastian talked about raising himself.

During their long talk, Sebastian let go of the fact that he didn't have the money to pay for anything that day. Kurt had been open and honest with him about so many things that he took him at his word and decided that if their positions were reversed that he wouldn't want to walk around all day with someone who felt guilty for being helped.

Sebastian did read some during Kurt's lessons, but he spent most of the time figuring out where they'd go shopping and mapping out their itinerary. And by the time Kurt was done, Sebastian had a plan.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, that pair and the other pair both look good on you. Which pair do you like better?"

"I think this one. They're more comfortable to sit down in."

"How about the shirts? I mean you could just get both."

"Sure."

"We'll look someplace else for jeans. Take those slacks off and I'll go get in line while you get redressed."

Kurt took both shirts and stepped back so that Sebastian could shut the door. He handed the slacks over the top of the door. Kurt took them and got in line.

Sebastian went out pulled his car around and picked Kurt up when he came out the door. Kurt tossed the bag in the back seat and got back in the front seat.

"Onward."

"Yes, sir!"

"We'll get lunch after the next place."

"Alright."

Kurt took Sebastian's phone and pulled up the map and gave him directions to the next place.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Please try it on."

"Turn the puppy eyes off and hand it here."

Kurt smiled and handed Sebastian the super soft black cardigan that he had found. He waited bouncing up onto his toes while Sebastian slipped it on over what he was wearing and buttoned it up.

"I knew it!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Knew what?"

"That it would look great on you. Go look in the mirror."

Sebastian went and looked in the mirror by the dressing rooms. "It's nice, but 'sweater' was not on the shopping list."

"Try putting your coat on over the top. Can you still move or it is too tight?"

Sebastian did as requested. "It still fits fine."

"Good. We're getting it. You'll thank me later," he teased. "It will look good with every shirt you own and when it's really cold you can wear it over anything inside and still look nice. And it's so soft…"

"Turn off the puppy eyes. You win. I'll get it. It's not expensive is it?"

"It's $10."

"Well, what else do I need, oh sage wardrobe planner?"

Kurt went through the list in his head. "I think we're down to the boots."

"Alright, then let's get these things and move on."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I like them both equally."

"Put one of each on."

"Why?"

"Then you can compare them at the same time. I'll wait here with our stuff. Walk around to middle over there and look in the full-length mirror."

Sebastian came back a few minutes later. "I think these. I'll put the other one on and walk around just to be sure."

"I'll be right here." Kurt sat on a stool with their bags at his feet.

Sebastian put the mate on and adjusted the laces. He got up and walked around he store for a few minutes and came back. "Definitely these."

"Alright, then. We're done. Let's go get these. Slip them off and put them back in the box. You can put them back on as soon as we pay. Then your feet can stay warm. Those shoes you're wearing might cost $150, but they do nothing to keep your feet warm."

Sebastian just laughed and unlaced the boots.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"What is this place?" Sebastian asked as he pulled into a parking space.

"I came here with Matt once. I know you'll love it. Come on."

They got out and headed across the parking lot.

"You definitely look warmer now. Scarf, gloves, and boots."

"I am warmer." He withheld the urge to thank Kurt again and he suppressed the guilty feeling of needing someone else to get him things when he was so used to taking care of himself.

They walked through the entrance and Sebastian looked around. "Oh, wow. Is this Ohio's biggest grocery store or something?"

"I don't know. It's definitely the biggest grocery store I've ever been in. You're going to love it here. We can get a few things today and you can come back with me any time you want. Let's get a cart. I'm not going to buy that much, but I get tired of carrying the baskets."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian popped another piece of French cheese in his mouth, enjoying every bite. Kurt snacked on some dried apricots. They just sat in the car for a few minutes before Sebastian started the car up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ground his thoughts and feelings.

He started the car and began backing out of the parking spot when he asked Kurt, "I'm not having some massive delusional dream, right? Your family is really letting me live with you and I don't have to go back to my father's anymore, right?"

"As far as I know, I think we're all going to his house on Saturday to settle this. My dad, Carole, Hiram – the lawyer, me and you."

"Well, that sounds unpleasant, but I'm sure it's necessary. I don't want him to file a police report that I ran away or something. I think he'll try to get out of paying my tuition at Dalton for the spring in retaliation."

"Well, let's just wait until Saturday to see. There's no point in ruining the rest of winter break this week fretting about what will happen. I know that's easier said than done."

"It is. I'll try. Let's make a plan while we drive back. You've got alterations to do and I've got a freezer to organize, plus we have to dig the bush out."

"And I've got to work at the shop and I've lost my trainee for the week, so you've been conscripted to take his place."

Sebastian laughed. "Is that so? I don't even know the name of more than 10 tools in French and I probably knew fewer than that in English."

"Well, Sam learned. You can too. As soon as Dad figures out how you can legally work in the US, I'm sure you'll be his next hire any way. We all have to earn our keep."

"I see." He laughed. "Your dad is collecting teenage boys to work at his shop."

"Very funny."

"Does being a mechanic pay well?"

"Well, pay is based on skill. So, the quicker you learn, the more you'll make. I'm a certified mechanic and I make $18 an hour."

"What about Sam?"

"He makes minimum wage along with Finn - when Finn works."

"Oh."

"They don't have any certifications and can only work under someone else or do regular stuff like sweep floors, clean stuff, work the cash register and things like that."

"I see. So, when I can work legally, then I'll be doing that basic type stuff for minimum wage? What even is minimum wage?"

"Seven something an hour."

"So, if I work 8 hours on a weekend, I'd make around $50?"

"Something like that."

"If I can work legally, I could tutor at Dalton. They get $15 an hour. I need to look into that once your dad and the lawyer make my father give my documents back. I'll probably need to pay that lawyer, won't I?"

"Well, we can work that out. Hiram is Rachel's dad."

"Oh."

"I'm imagining he'll do it pro bono."

"Why?"

"Because your father is being a jerk and Hiram won't take kindly to you being discriminated against."

"I don't get it. You make it sound like it's personal to him."

"Rachel has two dads. Hiram's gay."

"Oh."

"LeRoy is her other dad. He's an accountant."

"I see."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

With Finn running off to Puck's and Rachel's a lot and spending most of his time down in the family room when he was home, Kurt and Sebastian spent most of the week together getting to know each other better and working on projects around the house. Kurt introduced Sebastian to the shop. Sebastian was a fast learner and he was able to do oil changes after watching a couple of times. Kurt oversaw him do a couple and they moved on to some other things since he couldn't let him do them unattended yet.

By the end of the week, the house and garage were pretty much spotless. Carole calculated that Sebastian could consider the debt he felt like he owed her paid in full since he had done so much work. She even wrote up a slip with the cost of hiring someone to do what he had done so he would believe her, which brought a big smile to his face.

Friday afternoon, Sam came back. They headed out to the basketball game not long after he got back.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Saturday morning was gray and overcast and mirrored the heaviness Sebastian felt on the drive to the Smythe mansion. Hiram rode with Burt. Sebastian drove Kurt. Carole ended up having to work and couldn't go. They had decided to show up unannounced. They arrived at 9:00. The four of them walked up to the door together. Sebastian rang the doorbell and stepped back.

A few minutes later, Lorraine Smythe answered the door. "Sebastian, who are these people with you?" She looked like she could have been a model – nearly as tall as Kurt, thin, with pale skin, long dark brown wavy hair and piercing blue eyes.

He stepped forward and she stepped back. The other three followed Sebastian inside.

"I want to speak to my father. Please tell him I'm here. We'll be in the library waiting."

She walked away to go find Robert.

Sebastian led the other three to the library. The four of them sat down on the couches in the library and waited.

"Lorraine says you've brought guests this morning. Some forewarning would have been appreciated, Sebastian," Robert said as he came into the room and then came to a complete stop. Robert was a middle-aged version of Sebastian – tall, lean and muscular, with short brown hair and green eyes. "Burt Hummel. It's a surprise to see you here."

"Robert. This is my son Kurt and our lawyer Hiram Berry."

"Good morning, gentlemen."

"I've come to ask you for the legal details of my ability to obtain my trust fund. Mr. Berry will look over the details while we speak."

Robert didn't move.

"Any time, Father. We aren't leaving until I know the details."

"Yes. Right. I'll be back."

The four of them sat in silence waiting for him to return.

"Here's the paperwork."

Hiram stood and took it. "Thank you, Mr. Smythe."

"Where are your manners, Father? You haven't offered our guests anything to drink or eat."

"Well, I'm sure we could make some coffee, if you gentlemen would like some."

"No food?"

"The housekeeper hasn't come back from the grocery store yet. I'm not sure what there is to offer. As I mentioned, some forewarning would have prevented that, Sebastian."

"If you had left any food for me to eat while you went to Colorado, we could have offered that to our guests. But you didn't leave me any food."

"You have a car. You could have gone shopping."

"With what money, Father? The money you refuse to give me? Grocery stores don't look kindly on shoplifters."

"You know how you could get money."

"That's actually why we're here, Robert. You are not being a proper parent to Sebastian."

"I pay for him to attend a prestigious private school that provides room and board. He has clothing, a place to live, and food."

"What about soap? Shampoo? School supplies?" Sebastian asked.

"As I mentioned, you are not fulfilling your duties as a son, so you have not been receiving your allowance. It's a willful choice you have made."

"Burt," Hiram said, "I've looked it over. It's as Sebastian suspected."

"So, I have to get married to get my trust fund?"

"Yes, Sebastian," Hiram answered.

"I want all of my legal documents given to me now. Everything I brought with me from France that you put in your safe. I want all of it returned to me."

"For what purpose?"

Hiram spoke up. "If you don't return his legal documents from the verbal request he is making right now, I will fill a suit demanding their return to him. He is 18. The documents belong to him. Refusing to give them to him will not be in your best interest."

"Fine. Wait here."

They waited in silence yet again - this time for longer. Sebastian left the room and Burt followed him. They got to Robert's office to find him photocopying the documents.

"No. You will not keep copies or attempt to give Sebastian the copies. Give us everything you've copied and the originals. Do not move from where you are standing," Burt said resolutely blocking the doorway.

Sebastian went over to the photocopier and lifted the lid to remove the document. He took all of the copies from the tray. He turned around and took whatever Robert was holding.

"Where is whatever else is mine?"

"On the desk in that file."

"If I find a single thing missing or tampered with, I will file a lawsuit against you, and I will hold a press conference about it. Be sure you are telling me the whole truth right now."

"That's everything you gave me besides what you just took out of my hands."

"It better be. Rest assured that I have records of what I gave you. I photographed the front and back of each and every document you made me give you."

Sebastian took the photocopies and the documents Robert was holding and put them in the file folder with whatever was in it and closed it. He carried it out of the room and back to the library. Burt followed him, with Robert close behind.

Sebastian took the folder and sat at the table in the library and started to organize the documents, first separating out the originals from the copies. While he was doing that, Burt started to speak to Robert.

"You are a disgrace of a parent, Robert Smythe. You ripped your son from the only life he had known, brought him to a country he had never been to, stuck him in a school system he was unfamiliar with, and left him to figure it all out on his own. You provided him with two days of clothing and then bought him nice things for show – a leather duffle and satchel, an expensive laptop, shoes, a belt, and coat. But nothing he needed for school or personal hygiene. No school folders, no paper, no pens or pencils. Nothing. You're pathetic."

"He needs discipline. His mother let him run wild and become a fag."

"I'd watch your language if I were you," Hiram said firmly.

"I'll say what I please in my own house."

Burt spoke again. "We are going to reach an agreement today, Robert. You clearly have no interest in being a parent to the wonderful young man sitting at the table over there. Our family has grown quite fond of him and we have asked him to move in with us. He's already been living with us for the past week."

"What kind of agreement?"

"First off, let's have a seat at the table, shall we?" Hiram said.

Everyone moved to the table, but there were only four chairs. Robert left the room and came back with a fifth and sat down.

Hiram handed Robert a piece of paper. "This is what Sebastian has requested."

Robert read through it. "I won't sign this."

"Which part is unacceptable?"

"If he leaves, the car stays here. I paid for it. It's legally mine. I also want the phone returned. If he's not in my care, I will not pay for his phone."

"And the other requests?"

"He can stay at Dalton. They aren't listed here, but he can keep the other items I purchased for him."

"And you will not contest a name change?"

"No."

"Sebastian?" Hiram inquired.

"Fine. As long as he signs the paper and it's legally binding that he will pay for all of the tuition, fees, room and board, and books required for attending Dalton, I will sign it as well. I'll need a few minutes to wipe my phone, and after he signs everything, I will give him the phone, the car key and the car remote. But I want him to sign a form listing everything that I give him has been received by him. I don't want him to be able to say that I didn't return what he asked for."

"I'll amend the agreement while you finish looking through your papers and clear your phone, Sebastian," Hiram said. "And I'll write up an invoice for the items you return to him whenever you're ready to do that."

"Kurt, can you go get my satchel and duffle?" Sebastian handed Kurt his keys.

"Sure." Kurt left and came back a few minutes later. He placed them next to Sebastian.

"Alright. I've determined that all of my papers that I brought with me are here. I'll be taking the photocopies with me and I'll destroy them myself. If you'll give me a sheet of paper, Hiram, I will make a list of the items that I am returning to him for him to sign. I'll also display the items on this table and you can photograph him with the items, signing that he received them. What I did not see in the folder is my US Passport, my social security card, and my US birth certificate. I won't be leaving without those. So, while I am making my list, you can take Burt with you to retrieve those from your office."

Robert got up and Burt followed him.

Sebastian took a while to finish writing, which surprised Kurt. He wasn't sure what was going on. Once he finished the list, he stood and picked up his satchel first. He opened it and removed the laptop, the binder, and the pencil case. He removed the earbuds from the pencil case.

He placed the laptop, the earbuds, and the satchel on the table. He placed the binder and pencil case in front of the chair he had been sitting in. He picked up the duffle next and opened it. He removed 6 pairs of underwear, 6 pairs of socks, his school shoes, his trainers, 2 pairs of pajamas, 2 pairs of jeans, the rugby shirt, the blue button up shirt, and the black leather belt. He placed the duffle on the table as well.

He walked over to where he had been sitting and picked up the coat he had been wearing. He removed the gloves from the pockets and placed them and the scarf on top of the folder with his documents on the table. Then, he added the coat to the items in the middle of the table.

He restacked everything so that it could all be clearly seen in a photo. He removed the key to the Hummel's house and his dorm room key from the keychain and put those two keys in the small pocket of his jeans. He placed the keychain where it could be clearly seen. Lastly, he double-checked his phone, put in his Apple ID and tapped the reset to factory settings button.

Burt and Robert came back into the room about the same time as Sebastian had finished restacking everything. Burt handed Sebastian the documents. He put them with the others.

"This is everything my father has given me since I arrived. I don't want any of it. I will accept the payment for my schooling only because I do not want to change schools again with only one semester until I graduate and you originally agreed to pay for my schooling in an agreement with my mother."

"Why are you returning the clothing and the other items I bought you? What am I going to do with them?"

"I don't want them. I've not taken anything from you except payment for my schooling since right after I turned 11, the year my mother put me in a boarding school. I've worked for everything I've owned since then. You had my documents preventing me from working here legally since I arrived, but I have those now and I will get a job and pay my own way like I have for the last 7 years."

"I don't understand," Robert said. "What do you mean you worked when you were 11?"

"How else was I going to eat when I wasn't at school in July and August? What was I going to wear when I couldn't wear my school clothes at home? It doesn't matter now. I just want to be free from both of you. Pay my for last semester's schooling and you'll never have to hear from me again."

Burt spoke up. "Hiram, check his list and make sure everything on the table is listed. Robert, please move to the other side of the table to be photographed receiving the items being returned to you."

"Photograph me first signing the paper, and then him signing that he received the items," Sebastian said.

"Actually," Kurt said. "Hiram stand to the left of Sebastian. Dad to the right. Now, sign the paper, Sebastian." Kurt took several photos. "Now, Mr. Smythe, trade positions with Sebastian and sign that you received them." Kurt took more pictures. "Now, Dad, sign the paper as a witness. You next, Hiram." Kurt photographed them as well.

Sebastian moved back and put all of the items back in the duffle and put the laptop in the satchel and moved them off the table.

Hiram put the new agreement down in front of Sebastian, who signed it while Kurt photographed him. Next was Mr. Smythe, then Burt, then Hiram. Hiram pulled out his notary stamp and notarized both papers.

"You and Mr. Smythe can go copy these." Hiram explained how many of each to make.

Burt nodded and the two of them left the room. Hiram logged the notarizations into his official logbook while they were gone. Sebastian moved the documents from the file folder into a section of his binder that was secure. He moved the empty file folder to the middle of the table.

When they came back, Hiram took the photocopies. He kept what he needed and distributed the other photocopies to Robert and to Sebastian, who put all of the papers in his binder with the other legal documents.

Hiram spoke, "There is one last form for you to sign, Mr. Smythe."

"What's that?"

"The form that says you won't contest Sebastian's request to change his last name, in case he decides to do that at some point. It may not be needed, but while we're here, I'm going to cover all of the bases. Just sign this form. Feel free to read it first."

Robert took the form, read it through, and signed and dated it. "There." Burt took it and signed as the witness. Hiram signed it and then stamped it. He entered the third notarization into his logbook. He kept the paper.

"Is there anything else you need to do in this house, Sebastian?" Burt asked.

"I'd like to say goodbye to Madeleine and Liam."

"Why?" Robert asked.

"Because they are children. They do not understand any of this. You told them they had an older brother. I will not just vanish. Have Lorraine bring them to the front room. You can be there. Just don't say anything mean about me to them ever."

"Fine. I'll go get the three of them. You know the way. We'll meet you there."

Burt and Hiram went out to Burt's car to wait. They put Sebastian's stuff in the back seat. Kurt waited with Sebastian. Robert brought Lorraine and the two children into the front room.

"Madeleine and Liam, this is my friend Kurt."

"Hi Kurt," Madeleine said. She looked like a mini-me of her mother.

He smiled at both of them.

"I hope the two of you had fun on your vacation," Sebastian said.

"We did," Liam said. Liam looked much like what Kurt thought Sebastian probably looked like at his age.

"It was lots of fun," Madeleine said. "Daddy told us you didn't want to come."

"Oh. Well, I spent Christmas with friends. I'm going to be staying with them, and then I'll head back to my school, so I won't be back to stay here anymore. I just wanted to tell the two of you goodbye."

"Alright. Bye, Sebastian," Madeleine said. She reached to hug him and he knelt to pull her close and hug her back.

Liam didn't move, but said a sad, quiet "goodbye". Sebastian put his hand on Liam's shoulder and nodded.

Sebastian and Kurt turned and walked out the front door. Sebastian made it to the car before he started to cry.


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt took Sebastian's hand in the car and just held it loosely. He didn't want Sebastian to feel completely alone.

Hiram drove back toward Lima, but he stopped at Kohl's and had Kurt and Sebastian come in with him. "Go look in the men's department. I'll be back there in a minute. Take a cart."

Kurt and Sebastian did as they were told.

A few minutes later, Hiram approached them. He spoke Sebastian. "This is not an act of charity. This is something I agreed to a long time ago and I now get a chance to be a man of my word. One day, if presented the opportunity, you will do the same. Please select the underwear, socks, jeans, shirts, shoes, belt and coat you need. You won't tell anyone that I did this, neither will I. One day when it's your turn, you will do it in secret as well."

"Only if you tell me the story, or at least a little bit of it," Sebastian said.

"Come this way." Hiram led them to the shoe department, which was the only place with seats. He sat in between the two of them, he leaned over, and spoke very quietly. "When I was a senior in high school, I was outed to my family, who kicked me out of my house. I spent my days at school, and my afternoons and evenings in the library. When it closed, I left and slept in a shed I had found. I borrowed enough money from a friend to buy one change of clothes so that I could wash a set while wearing the other, which I did in the locker room at school after school. I hung them to dry in my gym locker. The custodian caught me one day about two weeks into my doing this. He told me to meet him after he got off. I was afraid he was going to tell the school I was homeless and I'd get kicked out. Instead, he took me shopping and took me home with him and let me sleep on his couch. He didn't have a spare room for me, but he didn't want me out on the streets. I got a part-time job and finished school. I moved out and I worked for a few years after that and saved up money to go to college. Eventually, I became a lawyer. He told me the only repayment he wanted was for me to do the same thing for someone else if I ever got the chance. He was a black man in the late 60s willing to take in a gay Jewish teenager. I can't do something as brave as he did because things have at least improved in some ways. But I can do this for you. I'd love for you to live your whole life and never be able to do this for someone else because no one needs it done for them. But should the opportunity arise, I'd like you to help someone out."

"Yes, sir."

"So, I have this great coupon that Kohl's was so kind to give me for opening a Kohl's account today. But don't worry. I'm not going into debt. I just figured the young lady at the front of the store needed a boost for her job today. They usually get a bonus if they can get someone to agree to open an account. I'll just pay it off before we leave." Hiram sat up straight and spoke in his normal voice again. "Shall we start with the shoes, since we're already here?"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After Sebastian picked out some comfortable black leather lace-up oxfords and a pair of Vans similar to Kurt's, Kurt turned on his well-honed bargain hunting skills and scoured the 60-80% off clearance racks and found a pea coat similar to the one Sebastian had been wearing. He found some pairs of Levi's that fit well too, along with a couple of patterned button-ups that Sebastian liked.

Sebastian chose socks and underwear. He convinced Hiram that anything else that he needed that he could get for himself once started working. He told him about his and Kurt's Goodwill adventures and how he had a pair of slacks and a few shirts at the Hummel's. They were on their way out in less than an hour. They stopped at the benches in the entryway and Sebastian took the tags off the coat and put it on.

He put the two pairs of shoes into the bag with the clothes, and put the shoeboxes into the trashcan. Hiram wanted to keep what he had done low key, so Sebastian condensed everything to fit into the one bag. When he got into the backseat, he put his pencil case in the bag too, and tied the bag closed. He put his scarf and gloves back on. He looked like he had when they had left that morning.

While the three of them had been shopping, Burt had walked across the parking lot and put their names in at Cracker Barrel. Kurt moved the car to the restaurant lot. The three of them went inside and found Burt looking around the store.

"We should be up soon. I'll go check," Burt said.

"Hummel, party of four" was called out before he even got there. The other three made their way to the hostess stand. They were seated and given menus.

"I've never been to a place like this. It's like a theme restaurant," Sebastian said quietly to Kurt, as he looked around at all of the memorabilia on the walls.

"They serve breakfast all day and it's southern style food. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, pot roast, chicken pot pies, pork chops, collard greens, grits, stuff like that."

"I've never really eaten at American restaurants other than that time I went with you to that café. I just eat whatever looks best in the cafeteria. What's good?"

"This restaurant chain is popular, like really popular. Think about it. My dad put our name on the list after he got here like 45 minutes ago. Pretty much everything is good."

"Alright. I'll try a chicken pot pie. That sounds interesting and the picture makes it look good."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got back to the house, Sebastian went straight up to Kurt's room. As he entered, he realized that it was their room now. He was home. He didn't ever have to go back to his father's house again.

Kurt wasn't far behind him and found him just staring into space sitting on the bed. When Kurt came closer, he looked up.

"I'm sorry."

Kurt looked confused. "About what?"

"Borrowing some of you clothing without asking. I realized last night that I just didn't want anything that he had bought me since I came. But I should have asked."

Kurt sat down next to him. "Bas, it's fine. You can just toss them in my laundry. They'll be fine. I'm glad you were able to do what you wanted. Do you feel better now?"

"Yes and no. I'm free, which feels amazing. But knowing that neither one of them ever wanted me is really hard."

"Well, they're both stupid. Since Hiram doesn't want anyone to know what he did, let's get the new clothes into the washer and dryer before Carole gets home. That way they'll all be up here and put away already. We didn't give her the final closet reveal yet."

Sebastian opened the bag and they took the tags off the items and Kurt ran them all down to the washer and came right back.

"You don't have any pajamas now, though. And you'll need a belt and book bag of some sort. You can wear my pajamas when you're home, but we need to go out at some point and find you some to take back to school with you."

"I have a single. No one would see me sleep in my underwear."

"Fire alarms, room checks?"

"I was just teasing. We'll go to Goodwill and get some."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Is there anything left I haven't already told you? I think I've spilled my guts this week."

"Why do you have an American accent? I would have expected your teachers to have a British accent."

"Well, my father obviously believed that my mother actually held a job and he paid for me to have an au pair. I had several. An au pair lived with us until I was old enough to send off to boarding school. I'm assuming that he never knew that my mother sent me to daycare and before- and after-school care. So, my father sent money, my mother kept the money and got an au pair to watch me all evening and night in exchange for a free room. It worked well because I was an easy kid and rent in Paris is extraordinarily high. So, getting to live somewhere free and keep me from dying was an easy task. She got American college students to do it."

"So, you grew up bilingual?

"Yes."

"You're amazing, you know."

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

Kurt shoulder bumped him. "How did you not end up a drug dealer?"

"I had seen that lifestyle and didn't want anything to do with it. My mother's male 'friends' offered me other ways of making money too that I never took them up on. This life you've led where you have a parent that cares, is completely foreign to me - like the way your dad stood up to my father today. He called me a 'wonderful young man'. I had to focus really hard not to cry. No adult has ever said anything like that about me. And your stepmother is the sweetest person I have ever met."

"They both really like you."

Kurt's phone alarm went off. "I'll be right back." Kurt ran down and right back up. "Help me. You fold, I'll hang." Kurt grabbed two hangers from the closet and put the new shirts on them and hung them in the closet with Sebastian's other clothes. He shook the jeans out and folded them and put both pairs on the shelf above his shirts, with the other jeans. He had hung Sebastian's slacks on a wood hanger to keep them wrinkle free.

Sebastian put the socks and underwear in the drawer Kurt had given him in the dresser, and then he went in the closet.

"It's completely neat and organized in here now. We did good," Kurt said.

Sebastian looked around. He tried to hold back the tears, but didn't succeed. "Thank you."

"You've thank me enough for 10 lifetimes already, Bas."

"I could never thank you enough, but I'll stop saying it if you want me to. I have a home where people actually want me to be there and they care about me. There's never going to be enough thanking you for that."

"Bas, come here." Kurt stepped closer and pulled Sebastian closer and hugged him. "It's going to be okay."

"I think you're right."

Kurt heard the garage door go up. "Let's go get Carole and show her that we finished everything in here."

Sebastian was completely unused to the idea of an adult caring at all, but he went with Kurt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Kurt said.

"Oh, it looks nice in here. Give me the grand tour, sirs."

"Well, we'll start with the bathroom." He let Carole go first. "We found some lovely gray towels and wash cloths and added them to my navy ones. Sebastian's chosen products have been added to the cabinet and tub."

"Nice. The gray looks good."

"I put a little shelf on the wall next to the vanity to hold my products and I made a mirror cover, so that it can double as a desk when Sebastian's here. He can use the desk when he's home."

"We found a fold up moon chair that Sebastian likes. It's behind the chair in the corner. He can pull it out whenever he wants. It just gives us more room to walk if it's folded when no one is sitting in it."

"We repositioned the shelves so that speakers are in the middle now and the left bookshelf has my stuff and the right one has Sebastian's. We printed some of his photos and put them in frames we got for $1 each at Goodwill and we painted ourselves. We need a couple from Christmas for those empty ones."

"I like the photos. I'll print some of the Christmas ones for you."

"Thanks," Sebastian said.

"He has space for his stuff in the dresser and the final part is the closet. I finally finished it. It's not just weeded through. We actually organized it so that it looks good."

She stepped inside. "It looks great." She came back out. "I hope you like it here with us. We're all a bit crazy, but…"

"Yeah, I know about the crazy, but it's a good crazy."

She stepped towards him and held her arms out. "Come here, sweetie."

He walked into her arms. "We're glad you're here. It's all official now. This is your home."

He didn't let go. "Thank you," he said very quietly. "No one ever wanted me."

"Well some people are too dumb to know a good thing when they see it. I'm going to go get changed so I can go watch the basketball game with you tonight. We can cheer Sam together. I haven't been yet. Unless you don't want to be seen with an old fogey like me at the game."

"What? You're not an old fogey, although I don't know what a 'fogey' is. You're beautiful. And I would definitely not be embarrassed to sit with you. I'll put my red hoodie on before we go. I know Kurt has to change too."

"We'll be downstairs as soon as we're ready," Kurt said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sam left for the game early. Sebastian stayed home with Carole and helped her prep sandwiches for when everyone got back later. They left in time to make it to the game.

They cheered for Sam. Tina sat with them.

"Tina?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come over afterwards and have sandwiches with us and watch a movie? Carole and I already made a bunch before we came."

"Um, sure. Thanks." Tina texted her mom that she was going to Kurt's and that he would bring her home later.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Thanks for inviting me, Sebastian. The movie was fun. I had a good time," Tina said as she got out of the Navigator. I'll see you at school on Monday, Kurt. No, wait. We don't have school until Wednesday. I'll see you then."

"Thanks for coming. Happy New Year!" Kurt said.

She waved as she walked up her driveway.

Kurt pulled out and headed back home. "It was a good idea to invite her, Bas. I've tried not to take up her time she she's been dating Mike, but obviously she still has free time, so we should invite her more often."

"She seemed down."

"Mike went out of town for Christmas to visit relatives. She's probably lonely. She's not really friends with Rachel, and Mercedes spent all semester in the Troubletones and not with us."

"You go back on Wednesday?"

"Yeah. You don't?"

"No. We don't go back until a week from Monday. So, you'll be at school three days while I'm home alone."

"Well, they never assign much at the beginning. I'll fake sick and stay home. I don't think Carole will care."

"You can ask."

It didn't take much longer and they were back in the Hummel driveway.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They lounged around all day on New Year's Day. The played board games, with Kurt and Sebastian teaming up, Carole and Burt teaming up, and Sam and Finn playing individually so they could play the 4-player games.

They watched a movie. They played Mario Kart for a while. Sam and Finn stayed downstairs to play other video games. Kurt and Sebastian went upstairs to read for a while.

Kurt put his book down. "That's what we'll go do tomorrow. We'll open a bank account in your name and we'll get you a new phone."

"I don't have any money. Why do I need a bank account?" Sebastian stuck his finger in the book to keep his place, but closed it and held it one hand.

"Because we need the bank to mail a statement to you here. You can also call the school and give them your new address and request something from the school to be mailed here as well."

"Why?" He turned and sat with his legs criss-crossed and his elbows on his knees with his hands in his lap, looking at Kurt.

"We need to get you a new driver's license."

"I've just been driving with my French license."

"Well, we'll get you an Ohio license as well."

"Sure. I don't see why though."

"My dad said you need it for him to put you on our car insurance policy, but also because once you get an Ohio license with a local Lima address, you can check out books and stuff from the local library."

"Ah, that makes sense now. And free books. I like that."

"Me too. Interlibrary loan is great. We have a small library here, but with interlibrary loan we can borrow books from Columbus and other places with bigger collections."

"Cool."

"It is. That's how I get the French books I read. We need to get you a book bag of some sort as well. You can take my laptop if you need one at school. I don't take mine to school."

"I'll think about it. I did use it to take notes sometimes since I type pretty fast and prevented the need for as much paper. I mostly used it so I could do my work in my room rather than using the computer lab. I just went there to print stuff if I had to, which wasn't that often."

"If the administrative offices are open this week, we could go over and get you signed up to tutor. That way you can be available to start as soon as classes start again. $15 an hour is pretty good. I know you have a ton of schoolwork of your own, but even if you could squeeze in three people a week, and then you come home and work a couple of hours on Friday night and four hours with me on Saturday morning, you could make like $70-75 a week or so, after taxes."

"That would be amazing." He paused, and then asked hesitantly, "You really want me to come here every weekend?"

"Well sure, but you don't have to. But you can if you want."

"Of course, I'd want to. I sit in my dorm room alone most of the time."

"Well, now you can come here any time you want."

"Except that I have no car." He turned again and lay down on his side and propped his head on his hand.

"My dad's working on that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's leaving for DC tomorrow. So, he won't be using his truck. I think you're going to take Carole's car next week and she'll use his truck until he gets his planned ironed out."

"And the plan is?"

"A secret."

"Meaning you can't tell me?"

"Meaning, I don't know," Kurt shrugged.

"Oh. Okay. I have good news."

"What's that?" Kurt asked excitedly.

"I forgot to tell you that I will only be taking 8 classes this semester, and it's going to be French as my independent study course."

"Well, that should make things easier."

"A LOT easier. It's still a weird schedule, but it's an improvement. I have…US History, American Literature, Creative Writing, Calculus, Physics, Psychology, Orchestra, and French. I sat down with the guidance counselor and we went through my transcript again class by class trying to make at least one more of them count for something. High schools here have more classes in a broader range. In France people pick a technology/science/math track or a philosophy/arts/language/history track before high school. I was in the technology track not because I liked it better, but because I thought I get a better paying job in the long run."

"I get that. With your background, you wanted something that was more of a secure job track."

"And your dad has given you that. He's trained you up to have a financially stable job that you can support yourself doing while you pursue something you love."

"Yeah. And now you get that chance too. You can start to study for the certification tests any time you want. Once you get a few, you can start working on your own and making more money. The more qualified you are, the more you'll get paid."

"We'll see if I have any free time at all. Maybe I can to study between now and when lacrosse starts."

"Do you really love lacrosse or is it something you just did?"

"I guess I need to consider that too. You ask hard questions."

"I know. I ask myself hard questions all the time."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later that night when they were lying in bed, an idea came to Kurt. "You mentioned that you are taking calculus. Have you taken any applied math courses like accounting?"

"Back in France I did."

"I have a solution then. I do Dad's books, but he needs me to step up into a position of overseeing the work bays more. You have your documentation now. He could hire you in to do the books, if you can prove that you can do it."

"If you show me, I'm sure I can. Does it pay better?"

"Don't hold me to it, but I bet he'd pay at least $10 or more an hour and you could do it like 12 hours a week. Maybe 2 on Fridays when you come home and then like four on Saturday and six on Sunday. The books don't have to be done when the shop is open. So, you could go in with me on Saturday mornings from 8:00-noon and then I could drop you off and you could work from 6:30-12:30 on Sundays."

"It's an idea. We can talk to him about it tomorrow still, right?"

"Not really. He's leaving tomorrow afternoon and going to DC. I'm going to go down and talk to him. I'll be right back."

Sebastian waited and waited. He picked the book up that he had been reading and tried to focus on the words. It seemed like Kurt was gone forever, but he knew it had only been about 15 minutes when he came back.

Kurt climbed back into bed. "Here's what my dad said. 'Don't stress out so much.' He's going to have Carole get you a laptop. It won't have 'bells and whistles' – his words. But it will work for school. He said to go with me to the shop this week. Watch me do the books. Watch me do other stuff. He's going to give you an allowance for the first month, which will give him time to go to DC and get settled in and come back without you or him worrying about you not having any money. He says it's not charity because if he were home, he could get it all worked out this week and you could start working, but since he has to be gone, he's dealing with it in his way."

"I can hear him giving you this speech."

Kurt laughed. "He knows how much you feel like you have to earn your keep, but he wants you to relax. Get comfortable living with us. Get used to the fact that we want you here."

"Got it. Well, I mean I understand what he's saying. It will be different. I'm not used to interacting much. Like I said, I've been the type to keep my head down and stay just bristly enough to keep people at bay, but not enough to give any adults a reason to check up on my home life. I never wanted to end up in state care. The private schools I went to weren't the best, but they were good."

"You'll be fine here."

"I already am. I did think of something else I need to get tomorrow - a key ring."

"We can do that. I have your allowance. Well, I brought it up here with me. It's on the dresser."

"Okay. I'm on overload with accepting the kindness of others. Anymore and I will be unable to believe that I'm not having some extended hallucination."

Kurt rolled over and sat up and started to tickle him.

"What's that for?" he asked between bouts of laughing.

"I figured it was nicer than pinching you to prove that his is real."

"You're crazy."

"A well-established fact." Kurt plopped back on his own side of the bed and got comfortable to fall asleep. "Happy New Year, Bas."

"Happy New Year, Kurt." He reached up and turned the bedside light off. And to himself mostly, he quietly said, "I think it might be my first happy year ever."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Sebastian was met with a smiling Kurt holding a tray.

"Slide up."

Sebastian slid up in the bed and leaned against the headboard. "What's that?"

"Well, it's a year of firsts for you. I figured that no one has ever made you breakfast in bed and I'd be the first."

"You brought me breakfast? That you personally made just for me?"

"Yes and yes." Kurt put the tray down over Sebastian's legs.

"Wow. Waffles with strawberries? And whipped cream?"

"I thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it. Thank you. You are already the nicest person I know. If you keep this kind of thing up, I'll have to nominate you for sainthood or something."

"I don't think they'll let an atheist be a saint, so I think I'm safe from that happening."

"This is really good. Some time I'll make you crèpes."

"Mmm. Sounds good."

"Aren't you eating?"

"I ate earlier before I started yours."

Sebastian looked across the bed at the clock on Kurt's bedside shelf. "You let me sleep in. It's 9:00 already."

"You looked too peaceful to wake up. So, I did laundry and made breakfast."

"You have a magic bed or something. I've never slept like I do when I sleep here."

"Good. I'm glad you're comfortable here. I'll be right back."

Sebastian finished eating while Kurt was gone. He came back in carrying a basket of laundry. He dumped it out on the bed and started folding. He folded everything quickly and put it away.

"You don't have to do my stuff."

"I know. But I was already doing it, so why not?"

"Well, thanks. I'm going to get dressed so we can go out." Sebastian went in the closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a green button up and put them on in the closet, putting the pajamas in the laundry basket. He grabbed his boots. "How cold is it outside? I can't check the weather without a phone."

"Oh, um. It's 24."

"In Celsius, please?"

"Oh, right. Negative 4."

"Ooh. Very cold." He grabbed the cardigan too and came back into the room. He opened the dresser and pulled out a pair of socks and put his boots on, leaving the cardigan on the bed briefly while he went in the bathroom to finish getting ready. He came out to find Kurt holding his cardigan with a grin on his face. "I know. You told me I'd thank you later. I remember."

Kurt held it out for him to put his arms in.

"Breakfast in bed and now you're helping me get dressed. Do you have aspirations of being a butler?"

"Nope, not at all." Kurt walked over to the dresser and handed Sebastian five $20 bills.

"$100?"

"Your allowance for now."

"Oh." Sebastian put the money in his wallet.

"You can use most of it to open your checking account today."

"Okay. Lead the way oh, guru of all things American."

"You goof. Grab the tray and let's go." Kurt picked up his satchel and followed Sebastian down the stairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They had gotten everything done in Lima that needed done. Sebastian had a new key ring with a key to Carole's car, house keys to the Hummel's, and his dorm key on it. They found a nice leather satchel, a belt, and pajamas at Goodwill. The strap on the satchel needed repaired and it needed polished and conditioned, but Kurt assured him that he could have it looking good with a little work. Sebastian believed him. Kurt seemed to possess magical transformation skills. Sebastian opened his first bank account.

Sebastian called the school to verify that the administrative staff was working before they took off and headed off to Westerville.

"Good afternoon, Kurt, Sebastian," Ms. Walters said as they entered the office.

"Good afternoon," they both replied.

"What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I'd like to sign up for the tutoring program – to be a tutor. I have all of my documents now."

"Excellent." She gave him a list of what she needed. He gave them to her and she photocopied them. "Fill this out. Be sure to mark the areas you want to tutor. Don't just mark everything because you have to take an exam for each one."

"I see. How long is each exam and when can I take them?"

"They're one hour long each and you can take a couple today still. You'll have to come back another day to take more because it's already 1:30 and we close at 4:00 today since there aren't any students in the building."

"Alright. Also, I need to fill out a change of address form."

She opened a file cabinet behind her and handed him another form to fill out.

"While you're here, you could go ahead and move your stuff if you'd like."

"Move my stuff?"

"To your new room."

"Why am I moving to a new room?"

"Your room assignment was changed to a double in a suite with a shared bathroom."

"When?"

"Earlier this morning."

"Who am I rooming with?"

"You work on filling those out and I will check."

They both took a seat and Sebastian filled the papers out. He handed her the clipboard after he had finished.

"Thanks. You'll be rooming with Blaine Anderson, who has re-enrolled for the coming semester."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Ms. Walters was startled by Sebastian's curt answer.

"I'm sorry for being rude. I won't room with Blaine. There has to be another vacancy in a double room."

"Let me check. While I'm doing that, you can go ahead and take one of the tests if you'd like."

"Yes, please. The French one."

"Just have a seat over there in that office and I'll log you in."

Sebastian did as he was told. She logged him in and he got started answering questions. She closed the door when she came out.

"What's the price difference between keeping the room he has and the double?"

"I'll get that exact cost for you, Kurt." She looked through the computer system at the room availabilities and costs."

"There are no other empty spaces in a double suite. We have quite a few openings in a double with a private bathroom. And the room that Sebastian will be vacating will be open, as well as five other singles."

"And the price differences?"

"The double with a private bath is $750 more for the semester. Staying in the room he's in would be $1750 more."

"Is Headmaster Collins in today?"

"He is."

"Does he have time to talk to Sebastian in an hour when he finishes that test?"

"I don't think he has any appointments scheduled today. Let me go check." She left and came back. "He can talk to Sebastian then."

"Alright. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Kurt."

Kurt took out the book he had brought with him and read for the next 45 minutes while Sebastian finished the exam. He came out of the room when he completed the test. He sat next to Kurt.

"I'll be right back with your score." She left and went back into the room.

"Bas, the headmaster has time to see you. Please consider telling him what's happened. The school has five other empty singles. There are rarely mid-year transfers. The school would not lose money by letting you stay in your room. Let's give it a shot, please?"

"Okay. If you come with me."

Ms. Walters came back out with a print out. "Good job, Sebastian. You got them all correct. You're cleared to tutor any level of French. Kurt said you'd like to see Headmaster Collins before taking a second test."

"Yes, please."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Mr. Hummel, it's been a while since we've seen each other. I hope things are going better for you this school year."

"They are remarkably better than last year, although I very much enjoyed the education I received here."

"I'm glad to hear that. Ms. Walters said that you wished to speak with me, Sebastian?"

"Yes, Headmaster Collins." Sebastian took a deep breath and opened up his binder and pulled out the sheet showing the receipt of goods and the sheet agreeing to pay Sebastian's schooling costs and handed them to the headmaster.

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Sebastian."

"The list of goods on that sheet is everything that my father had provided me with upon my arrival in Ohio. He refused to pay my tuition at my boarding school in France for this year and demanded that I come to Ohio and attend school here, which I did. It caused me a lot of stress because I wasn't prepared to attend a high school in America. I had to take 9 classes last semester and I am set to take 8 this semester so that I can graduate on time."

"Sebastian, there is hardly anything on this list." He handed the papers back to Sebastian.

Sebastian put the papers back in his binder. "Be that as it may, that is everything he had provided me and it has all be returned to him. I have the wallet and the camera that I came here with and my legal documents. Those are the only items in possession that I brought with me from France. I have no phone, no computer, no vehicle. He had held my documents so that I had no ability to work while I was here and I was unwilling to do what he asked of me to get my allowance. So, I have had no access to any cash this past semester. I bartered and traded services for things like paper, pencils, pens, and personal grooming items."

"I'm not even going to pursue that line of questioning. We'll just drop that subject for now. You are obviously wearing clothing now."

"I have a new family. Kurt's family has taken me in and I live with them now. Kurt and his family and a family friend have provided me with a week's worth of clothing, the coat and my shoes. I have these boots, black shoes for school, and the trainers I need for using the gymnasium. Kurt's family also gifted me this binder for my papers and a pencil holder for Christmas. They added me to their family phone plan and I got a phone this afternoon. His stepmother is getting me a laptop sometime this week so I will have a computer to use."

"So, you have been disinherited?"

"Yes. His final agreement was to pay my school-related expenses this semester, as you saw on that second sheet. What I didn't think to write on there was that he would allow me to keep the room I already had. He has obviously called the school and had my room assignment changed to the least expensive option."

Kurt spoke. "I was hoping that somewhere somehow there is a fund or a scholarship or ANYTHING that you can come up with to not force Sebastian into another room."

"I understand that this is a difficult time, Sebastian, but…"

"But you have a heart, right? You admitted me last year with four weeks left in the year. I shouldn't have been admitted that late, but sometimes rules are bent for human reasons."

The headmaster pulled information up on his computer. "There are five other open singles."

"Which means that 6 people would have to enroll midyear, specifically requesting a single before the school would actually need the room Sebastian is currently in, and we all know how unlikely that is."

"It says you're currently assigned to room with Blaine, who is returning from McKinley to study with us again."

"I won't room with Blaine. I'll stay in Lima and live with Kurt full time and attend McKinley myself before I'll room with him."

"There is something going on here that the two of you aren't telling me."

They both sat motionless.

Sebastian spoke again, "I also need this to not become public information. I only told you because it seemed like you needed to know, but I expect my personal information to be kept between the two of us," Sebastian said. "No one here needs to know that I've been disowned. That will make my life harder. I don't want to attend a third high school, but if I can't stay here in a single and have some relative peace so that I can do well in all 8 of my classes while singing lead for the Warblers, tutoring French and maybe math, and working part time at Hummel Tire & Lube on the weekends, then I will opt to go to McKinley."

The headmaster nodded.

"I may end up there anyway. Blaine will challenge me for lead singer and I don't have time for that type of drama. I have college and my future to think about."

"Why don't you go take the second tutoring test you were going to take and I'll consider what you've said."

"Yes, sir."

Kurt and Sebastian left the headmaster's office.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, Sebastian had finished the math test. He came back and sat next to Kurt while Ms. Walters went in the room and printed out his results.

"You've passed the math tutoring exam as well. I'll add your name to both lists for this semester. Once you've had a day or two to figure out your schedule, you'll need to send in your availability for me to post with your name. Here's the email address to send your availability. If your availability needs to be modified at some point, send the changes in via email."

"Thank you." He put the slip of paper into his binder. "I was wondering if perhaps you have a bag or sack, like from a grocery store that I could have. I'd like to go up to my room and remove my personal items."

"I'm sure I can find one. Just give me a few minutes." She got up from her desk and returned with a plastic grocery store bag.

"Thank you. I'll be right back."

Kurt continued to read while he was gone.

Sebastian came back with a stack of papers in the bag and he was carrying a single complete Dalton uniform on a hanger – the slacks were under the white button up, the sweater vest over the top, the next layer was the cardigan, with the tie around the hanger, and on top was his blazer.

Kurt picked up Sebastian's binder and followed him to the headmaster's office. He knocked and waited before entering.

"Sir, I've cleaned out my room. I'll leave my key with Ms. Walters. If you decide that I can stay in the single, please call me. I filled out the change of address form earlier, but my cell number is the same."

"That's everything from your room?"

"Yes, sir. I told you I didn't have anything. My father paid for a single uniform. I returned the other items you saw on that list to him. So, I have the notes I took last semester in this bag and my uniform."

"Surely you came from France with other possessions?"

"Well, I still have my wallet in my pocket, my camera which is at home, and I got my father to return my legal documents."

"You didn't arrive naked. Where are those clothes?"

"I did arrive wearing clothing – that's true. He told me not to bring luggage or any of my personal items from home because I wouldn't need them – that he would provide what I needed after I got here. But after my father bought the two new outfits, he had the housekeeper remove the clothes I had worn here when she did the laundry. They weren't name brand clothing, so I figured they weren't high class enough to suit my father."

"So, you came with nothing but a wallet, a camera, and the clothes on your back, which he got rid of, and all that's left in your door room right now are textbooks?"

"Yes, sir."

"May I ask why you have been disowned?"

"I'm gay."

"And?"

"And nothing. You can see my grades. I've done well here despite how different schooling is here and the fact that I took extra classes on my own. I've not gotten in trouble here at school or anywhere else."

"I see."

"I'll leave my key with Ms. Walters. If you decide there's some solution to this that will allow me to stay in my single, let me know. If I don't hear from you by Friday, I'll withdraw. Thank you for your time, Headmaster Collins."

Sebastian turned and walked out the door. Kurt followed him. Sebastian handed Kurt the uniform and sat his binder and the bag of papers on a chair. He pulled his key ring out of his pocket and removed the key to his dorm room and gave it to Ms. Walters.

"Before I leave, may I please have an official copy of my transcript from last semester and can you please return my transcript from France to me that you have on file?"

"Sure, Sebastian. Just have a seat, it will take me a few minutes to get it printed out and ready."

Kurt laid the uniform neatly over the back of one of the chairs and sat down. Sebastian picked up his binder and papers and sat down as well.

"I'll need the one from France back, if you're going to stay enrolled here next semester."

"I'll bring it back, if I return. Thank you for all of your help today, Ms. Walters."

"You're welcome."

Sebastian put both transcripts into his binder. Kurt grabbed his uniform and they headed out to the parking lot.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt opened the back of the Navigator and laid the uniform in the back neatly. Sebastian tied the bag shut so nothing would fall out, and put it in the back as well. Kurt shut the back. Sebastian just stood there for a minute staring off into space.

Kurt stepped toward him and hugged him briefly. "Let's get in."

They got in and put their seatbelts on. Kurt pulled his phone out and pulled a song up, played it and handed it to Sebastian so he could hear it better.

Sebastian listened carefully. Parts of it really stood out.

_Don't give up_

_You're gonna see tomorrow_

_That you'll be on your feet again_

_Sometimes the world's gonna knock you over_

_But you will see who are your friends…_

_Just put one foot in front of the other_

_The battles are inside your mind_

_You have the power to face your demons_

_No mater how big or what kind…_

_Pick up your will and put on your face_

_If you need to, just take my hand._

_It's time to demonstrate, don't hesitate._

_Just get up and say, "Yes, I can."_

…

_Stand, you're gonna run again._

"Thank you."

"Any time. I'm not a fair weather friend, Bas. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

Sebastian laughed. "You're something else."

"Something fabulous, right?" he teased.

"Obviously."

"So, shall we continue with our original plan even though were are about two and half hours behind or do you want to alter the plan?"

"Let's go ahead. I still need a duffle or small suitcase and a school bag of some sort."

"Since we're so much later than we had planned, we'll just stop at the places on the way back to Lima and see if we have any luck, rather than heading into Columbus like we were going to."

"That will work. Can I play the song again?"

"Sure."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got back just in time to slide into the dining room for dinner. They left their purchases in the entryway after hanging their coats up. They had almost made it to the bathroom to wash their hands before they heard "Wash up, you two." They both laughed and did as they were told. They cut through the kitchen and sat down at the table. Puck was joining them for dinner.

"So, did you get all of your errands run?" Carole asked.

"Mostly. We spent more time at Dalton than we had anticipated, so we shortened the shopping afterwards, but we found what we needed."

"That's good."

"So, Finn said you're living here now?" Puck asked.

"Yeah." Sebastian didn't know what else to say.

Puck didn't push. Everyone passed the bowls of food around and focused on eating. Once they had finished, Kurt and Sebastian cleared the table and did the dishes since they hadn't helped earlier. Once they were done, they grabbed the stuff from the entryway and headed upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Is Puck a problem? I mean will he do something to make this harder on you? You said he used to bully you."

"I don't think so. And this isn't hard on me. Stop thinking that way. Let's clean the suitcase and the satchel and the other stuff up. Once the satchel dries, we can polish it and then tomorrow we can spray it with this waterproofing stuff I have. It's the same stuff I used on your boots when we got home the day we got them. That way the leather will stay in good condition, even if you get caught in the rain. I'll be right back with some rags."

Sebastian took the stuff out of the suitcase in the bathroom. He put the binders in the bathtub. Kurt came back with the rags, handed one to Sebastian who then started washing the binders.

"Those are the really expensive binders. Obviously someone dumped coffee on them and then just let it dry. In 10 minutes, they'll be as good as new for 1/10th the price."

"This is how everyone thinks you have so much money. You go out and rescue stuff and make it usable."

"Pretty much. I mean have scrimped and bought high-end things that I really wanted, but mostly I fix things up and make them fabulous again." Kurt finished cleaning the suitcase. "This will just need to dry. We can slide it under the bed with it unzipped and just leave it there. It's clean under there. How are the binders looking?"

"Wet."

"Such a comedian."

"Wet and clean?"

"That's better. Hand me one and I'll dry it."

Once they had finished with the binders, they moved on to the satchel, which was dry since Kurt had only used a damp rag on it.

"Do you know how to polish leather?"

"Not really."

Kurt showed him how to do it and left him to it. "I'm going to fix the strap while you finish the polishing. Kurt pulled out his sewing stuff and got out a leather needle and button thread. He removed the broken threads, leaving enough to use to keep it from unraveling again. He had unclipped the fastener from the D-ring earlier and put it back on the end of the strap and sewed the strap back the way it originally was. It took him longer to fix the strap than it did for Sebastian to finish polishing the bag. Sebastian sat so that he could watch Kurt.

"There. Good as new."

"Probably better. You could make money doing this."

"I have. I did odds and ends stuff when I was at Dalton. I'd sew buttons back on, fix hems, and stuff like that. I'd charge less than the dry cleaners and they didn't have to leave campus to get it done."

"Industrious. That's the word for you."

"Thank you. My parents were big on self-reliance. I'm sure you can do this stuff."

"Well, I'm sure I could, if I had ever had the right tools to do it."

"That's true. You have to have the needles and thread. I still have my uniforms. If you end up staying at Dalton, I can alter them so they'll fit you and then you won't have to struggle with the clothing as much."

"How can you make the pants grow longer? I'm taller than you."

"Well, I had grown four inches between sophomore and junior year, so when I got the pants, I hemmed them in a way that allowed me to keep the extra length. I didn't want to have to have the expense of buying new pants if I continued to grow. I think I can let the blazer sleeves out by using hem facing. And I'm pretty sure our vests and cardigans are the same size. If you end up not going back, maybe we can sell your pieces and mine to someone at the school."

"Good plan."

"Let's go use a blow dryer on the binders to make sure there's no water left anywhere. Then you can put your notes in them and put them on the shelf."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt and Sebastian headed into the garage. "The leather spray can't be used outside when it's this cold, but it smells awful, so we'll do it in here before we leave."

Kurt sprayed both sides of the bag and the strap.

"I'll go put it in the downstairs storage room for it to dry. You can go ahead outside and warm the Navigator up."

Sebastian nodded and went out the door on the side of the garage and got in the Navigator and turned it over. Kurt came out a few minutes later and got in, dragging Sam with him.

"Oh, good, the defroster took care of the windows. Let's get going. You have a full day of numbers to crunch and I'm sure there's plenty of things for me to fix when we get there."

"I should not have stayed up late watching movies with Finn and Puck," Sam said as he propped his head on the window trying to sleep more on the drive to the shop.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian caught on quickly and Kurt left him on his own to work after an hour. He dealt with the issues going on in the work bays and got everything going smoothly with the holiday rush of people bringing their cars in before their vacations ended.

They both stopped and ate lunch together at 1:00 after the other guys were back to work.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well, it's not hard."

"Do you hate it?"

"No?"

"So, you'd keep doing it?"

"Kurt, I've been broke for five months. Of course, I would keep doing this to avoid being in the situation I've been in."

"I know that. I just mean, would you rather keep doing it or look for another job somewhere else?"

"I like this job just fine. Really. If your dad will let me do the books, I would be more than glad to take over doing them."

"Excellent. I'll tell him tonight," Kurt said enthusiastically.

"Why are you so excited?"

"Because. Why not? I mean you can do something you don't hate and not be dependent on anyone, which I know you do hate. I'm just happy for you. I want you to like being here and working here. I don't want you to feel obligated. You can get a job somewhere else. My dad isn't really collecting teen boys to work at his shop."

"That was a joke."

"I know, but I don't want you to feel obligated to work here."

"Listen carefully this time." He looked Kurt straight in the eye. "I like this job just fine. I would rather do this than anything that involves retail or customer service."

"But you're such a charming guy," Kurt teased. "You'd make a great waiter."

"Funny, very funny. People who freak out because their food isn't perfect would be very hard for me to deal with."

"I'm teasing you. I can see why those types of people would drive you nuts."

"Honestly, when we first met, I thought YOU were that type of person. You held yourself in this stiff, controlled way. Your clothes were perfect. Your hair was perfect. You had the 'I'm not to be trifled with' attitude turned up to the max."

"Mask."

"I figured that out when you came to the café that day."

Sebastian's phone rang, which made him jump since hardly anyone ever called him except Kurt.

"Hello?" He listened to the other person speaking for a few minutes.

"Yes."

"Thank you. Really, thank you."

Tears were running down Sebastian's cheeks. He wiped them way and regained his composure. "I can have my single and stay at Dalton."

"That's great!"

"The headmaster contacted someone who created a personal scholarship just for me for this semester to cover the difference."

"Perfect."

Sebastian refrained from thanking Kurt again because had asked him to stop. "I need to be there Sunday by 4:00 to get my key back so I can get in my room."

"That's doable."

Sebastian laughed. "That should be on your business card some day. You are the king of making things work."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Let's get back to work. We've got two hours left before we can go home. I gotta go check on Sam and see how he's doing."

"At least you're a nice taskmaster." He imitated the sound of a whip cracking and laughed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I wanna be 'sick' tomorrow too," Sam said. "You're a lucky duck. Why did you pick him to stay home with? I'm just as much fun," Sam teased.

"Well, Kurt's working tomorrow instead of going to school. I'm going with him to work too."

"I'd rather move tires and clean tools than listen to Mrs. Gorosky go on and on about whatever it is that she's talking about."

"But you need to go so you can bring my assignments home."

"Fine, fine. I'll go to school."

Kurt pulled up into the driveway. "Let's get inside and make dinner. Carole's working and we all know that all Puck and Finn did was eat everything that was already cooked."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam taught Sebastian how to make chili, while Kurt made homemade breadsticks.

"Be sure to make a bowl for me before you add the pasta, Sam."

"Why are you putting pasta in it? When I've seen it at school, I never saw pasta in it."

"The pasta is to make it more filling for the bottomless pits known as Finn and Puck. My mom put it in our chili to make it go farther. Kurt never did it, but I told him about it and we started doing it and it helps. Making the breadsticks helps too. Those two would eat a whole cow if we'd cook it for them."

"I see. Well, I don't need pasta in mine, so make me a bowl with no pasta too please."

"Got it. I'll just cook enough pasta for Finn and Puck. I'd rather have a breadstick or two than eat the pasta and skip the breadsticks. Kurt's breadsticks are awesome."

Once they had everything ready, they called for the other two to come eat. Puck and Finn came running up the stairs.

"Chili!" Finn announced excitedly.

"Yes, chili. Come eat," Sam said.

"You like it when we make chili because there are no vegetables for dinner," Kurt said.

"You got it," Finn said as he was practically inhaling the chili. "How many of these breadsticks are mine?"

"You and Puck can duke it out for whatever's there. We already have ours," Sebastian said.

"Dude, you rock," Puck said.

"I didn't make the breadsticks. Kurt did."

"Oh, well, you rock, Kurt. Great breadsticks. You should go down to Breadstix and show them how to do it right," Puck said, stuffing half a breadstick in his mouth at once.

Kurt and Sam laughed. Sebastian looked confused.

"It's a restaurant that serves mostly stale, somewhat breadstick-shaped but more like fat pencil-sized objects that are supposed to be breadsticks," Sam explained.

"Weird, but okay."

"It's the 'go to' place for dating in Lima. Although, I'm not really sure why. We have other decent restaurants," Kurt said.

"I can answer that one for you," Puck said.

"Do tell."

"The lame breadsticks are filling AND they are all you can eat. So, the dude leaves the restaurant not hungry without spending a fortune or looking like a total pig. You can eat like 20 of them and no one really pays attention."

"I see."

"Plus, we don't have to really dress up," Finn added. "They don't really serve fancy food like things we can't pronounce or that are made of vegetables."

"I see the appeal now," Kurt said laughing. "You've explained the mystery to me. Well, you two feel free to eat whatever you want. You're doing the dishes though since the three of us cooked. So, if there are any leftovers, pack them up. I have some sewing to do, and I need Sebastian to do it with me because they're his clothes that need tailored. Sam, you're free to join as a spectator or do whatever you want on this last homework free evening for the next very long time."

"I'm playing video games. Sorry you two. I won't get to play much until summer. Have to have my last hurrah."

"It's fine. We'll be upstairs if anyone needs us." Kurt got up and Sebastian followed him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt took the hem out of his Dalton trousers and steamed the bottoms and then pressed them to get the fold out.

"Slip them on so I can see if they need taken up around the waist. Put your dress shoes on so I can mark where to hem them."

Sebastian came out of the closet and then turned back. "Forgot the belt." He slipped it on and stood in the open space.

"Is the waist okay?"

"It's fine."

Kurt was on his knees marking the bottom of the pants. "Alright. You can slip this pair off and put the other pairs on. I'll mark all three separately."

Once the pants were marked, Kurt had him put the blazer on. "I think I don't really need a second blazer. I thought about it. I've gotten used to wearing the vest or cardigan more because I could wash those carefully. I usually only wear the blazer when I have to."

"Alright. Try my shirts on and see if they're okay."

Sebastian slipped one on. "They fit better than my shirt does. What did you do to them?" he asked as he came out of the closet.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. I put darts in the back so they wouldn't be so balloon-y around the middle. I can do that to your shirt if you want."

"Would you? This is a lot more comfortable."

"Sure. Just grab it and put it out here with one of mine so I can do it the same way. Why don't you run down to the storage room and grab your satchel?"

"Good idea."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Knock, knock."

"The door isn't even closed, Carole. Just come in." Kurt laughed.

"You're sewing?"

"I'm almost done. Sebastian only had one uniform. I let the hem out on my pants from last year. I never knew what to do with them, so they were still in the closet."

"That's a good idea. I came up to bring you this, Sebastian." She handed him a laptop. "It's not the newest, fastest, whatever-est model, but it works."

"Thank you. That laptop I had was the first computer I had ever had. Having any computer will be fine. I don't play games or anything. I mostly used it so that I could do my papers and research in my room rather than having to spend time in the computer lab."

"Well this should work just fine for that. And you won't need to feel indebted to anyone for it. A friend of mine at work gave it to me. I mentioned going out to get one and she said not to bother because she had her son's old one sitting at home collecting dust while he was off to college. So, she brought it today and gave it to me."

"Wow. That was really nice."

"It was. She said she was glad it was going to get some use."

"I will definitely use it."

"Kurt, I'll call you out of school tomorrow and Thursday, but I think you'll have to go on Friday. There's a basketball game Friday and I think the cheer rules are probably the same as the player rules. If you aren't at school the day of the game or on the Friday before, you can't play."

"Ugh. Fine. I'll go Friday. I wonder if I could get away with a half-day."

"Probably not."

"Alright. I'll go."

"Thanks for making dinner."

"No problem," Sebastian said. "I learned how to make chili. Sam taught me."

"Excellent. Now you know how to feed the bottomless pit duo quickly and cheaply," she laughed.

"How do they eat so much?" he asked.

"I have no earthly idea, but I think it costs the same to feed you, Kurt, and Sam as it does just to feed Finn."

Kurt laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it."

"I'll let you get back to work. I've got some stuff to do still before I can go to bed."

"Good night," Kurt said.

"Thanks again for the computer," Sebastian said.

"You're welcome. Hopefully, it will do what you need. At least until you can save up and get something newer if you need an upgraded model."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Don't worry. I have another flash drive. Just copy the files from the CD to the flash drive using my computer. Then, you can transfer them from the flash drive to the new laptop. It will be fine. I'll take any files of mine off of the flash drive, then you can just keep it."

"I've never seen a laptop without a CD drive in it."

"It's a netbook. They're inexpensive, mostly for school like you'll be using it for. You can't watch DVDs or listen to CDs on them or anything. They're like work computers only. As long as it works, you'll be fine. You weren't using the fancy one you had to watch DVDs or listen to CDs or game on anyway." He finished hemming the last pair of slacks and moved to the ironing board to iron the hems flat while Sebastian transferred the files twice. "Once you finish, or while it's doing its thing, slip the shirt back on so I can make sure it's okay before I iron it."

Sebastian got up from the desk and went in the bathroom and tried the shirt and came back out and handed it to Kurt. "It's perfect." He changed back and sat back down at the desk waiting for the file transfer to finish. "Thank you for fixing everything for me. I'd like you to teach me at some point in time. I may never be great at it like you, but I would like to know how."

"Sure. I'll teach you." Looking at the shirt, he said, "I think that's it." He put the shirt on a hanger and put it in the closet. "Slip the pants back on with your shoes so I can double-check that they all look right."

Sebastian did as asked.

Once he had put all of them on, Kurt said, "They're all good. Excellent. Now, you can just do your laundry once a week."

"That will save me time. Ooh, I know what I want to buy."

"What's that?"

"Nail clippers. I saw the ones I wanted in Target one time, but they were like $10 and I couldn't afford them. So, I bought the 69 cent ones, but they're terrible."

"I have several pairs. You can have one of mine if they're the kind you want. If not, we can get some the next time we're out."

"Okay. I'm going to shower. It's getting late."

"That's fine. I'll put all of this stuff away while you're in there."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They'd been lying in bed for a while when Sebastian spoke quietly. "Do you think I should let people know? I'm not ashamed that I live here now. I just don't know how to figure this out. I don't want my father to retaliate somehow, but I don't want to hide anymore. I'm going to have enough money to split the cost of a pizza sometimes or to go out with the Warblers occasionally. I can have people in my room and not be concerned that they will see that my room is completely empty. I had the one uniform and two shirts in my closet and one drawer that all my other clothes were in. It was something I hid. I didn't want to answer why I had nothing."

"But now, you don't have to hide. I'm glad, but you're right that it's a tough decision because word may spread and make things weird. I'm not sure what the right answer is. The Warblers that came here after Sectionals might be the place to start. They clearly took my side in the split. Maybe start with Jeff. He's been the most persistent. We could invite just him here this weekend. He already knows how to get here."

"I'll think about it, but you're probably right. There may be a few people I could tell that wouldn't blab everything. I'm not out to turn into a social butterfly, but I'd like to participate more."

"Maybe you can just start by saying 'yes' when Jeff asks you. Then, the more often you say 'yes', the more potential there will be that someone else will ask you to do something."

"Also, an option."

"You can think more tomorrow. Let's try to sleep."

"Yeah, like you ever stop thinking."

Kurt snorted. "I'll try, if you try."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Finn and Sam headed off to school, and a little later, Kurt and Sebastian headed off to the shop. Sebastian worked to finish up the office work and alternated between working on it and watching Kurt. Whenever he watched him, Kurt explained what he was doing and used the proper tool names and engine part names.

Once he finished up the office work completely, Kurt decided to test Sebastian's observation and mimicking skills.

"Okay. I'm going to show you the exact steps to change the tires on this car. I want you to watch and then I want you to do the next tire. I will watch you the whole time, but say nothing until you're done. If you do it right, we'll move on, but if you make a mistake, I'll take it off and show you the whole process again."

"Alright. I'll pay attention."

Kurt went through the whole process. Then he gave Sebastian his turn. Kurt wasn't surprised to see that Sebastian had done it perfectly.

"Perfect. Do the next one."

Sebastian repeated the process with the other two tires.

"Excellent. You are really good at mimicking and remembering what to do. I think that if you wanted, you could be certified in several areas over the next few months and you could work in the shop and in the office."

"Really? I thought it would take a long time to get certified."

"No, you just have to know what you're doing and take the tests. I've already seen that you're good at taking tests. That's what will slow Sam's progress down. He's dyslexic so the test taking will be a struggle for him."

"That's why he was excited about the recipe cards." He was piecing information together.

"Yes. The day I had you help him with the cookies – he said he couldn't read it. All of Carole's recipe cards are written in cursive and Sam can't figure out what they say. She took his favorite ones and printed them so he could read them more easily."

"I get it now. I was still overwhelmed that morning that your family just welcomed me and I didn't really think about why he needed help with the recipe."

"I help him with his schoolwork a lot. He's really smart and he has really good recall if I read the books to him. So, a lot of time, I just read our assigned reading out loud and he just listens."

"And we're back to you being nice. At least Sam doesn't take advantage of you."

"I'm done with that. You helped me see that being nice and being a doormat aren't the same. I always felt guilty when I didn't do what other people wanted. But I've got my head on straighter now. I'm always probably going to struggle with saying 'no' when someone wants me to do something. But at least now, I think about it and I ask myself whether what I am being asked is reasonable."

"So, where is the information I need to study to take these tests that could help me get a job that pays well?"

"You can use my stuff at home."

"So, what will you teach me next?"

"Ah, this is a review and a test."

"Alright."

"Oil change. We'll drop the lift down and you'll change the oil in this car while I watch. This time though, if you start to do something wrong I'll stop you because obviously letting you mess this up is not like putting the tire on wrong."

"Got it." He stepped back and Kurt lowered the car. He opened the hood and Sebastian got started.

Kurt wasn't surprised to see that Sebastian remembered every step and did the whole process exactly the way he had been shown. "Excellent."

Sebastian smiled, a genuine smile all the way to his eyes that lit up. "So, what else is there to do on this car?"

"Check the spark plugs, the other fluids, the air filter, and the lights."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

In the Navigator on the way home, Kurt said, "Alright, so spill."

"Spill what?" Sebastian looked around.

"It means tell me your secret."

"I know what it means, I just can't think I have any secrets you don't already know."

"How are you so good at mimicking and remembering what to do?"

"Oh, that. Life skill. Survival skill. I needed money. I had to get it somehow. I was 11 when I first needed a job. It's not like there are a lot of job opportunities for 11-15 year olds when you're supposed to be 16 to work. So, people would say, 'If you can do this the way I want it done, I'll pay you this much to do it.' I paid very close attention. So, someone wanted flowers repotted an exact way, I made sure to do it exactly the way the person showed me. I would babysit. I was told to heat the bottle a certain way, make the food a certain way, put the baby to sleep a certain way at a certain time. I did exactly what I was told. Exactness was the key to getting hired by word of mouth. If I did something right, that person would tell a friend that needed a babysitter that I did a good job. The person with the plants would tell their friends that wanted nice looking balconies that I would do the plants just the right way."

"I get it."

"I learned to cook by watching basic cooking shows on TV. I never experimented. I didn't have extra money to mess a recipe up. So, I would watch and buy exactly what I needed and then follow the steps exactly. I would go to the library and copy down recipes and the directions out of old cookbooks. I couldn't afford ready-made food, but I was 11 and needed to eat."

"That's how I started out. I followed recipes exactly because there was no one around to show me how to do it. But I did eventually venture out and try to change things up and came up with my own improvements."

"Which is why when we first talked about cooking, I said I could cook, but that you were probably better at it. I had to stick to basics because I could never afford to try new spices or expensive ingredients. I splurged and bought good cheese sometimes."

"You're amazing."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "I'm a survivor."

"You're an amazing survivor," Kurt smiled at him. He stopped right in front of the mailbox.

Sebastian sighed in resignation, knowing how many times he had hassled Kurt for not knowing how to take a compliment. "Thank you."

"Grab the mail, please."

"Sure." Sebastian got out and Kurt pulled forward and into the driveway. Sebastian was unlocking the front door when Kurt caught up.

They stepped inside.

"Ooh, two things for me."

Kurt closed the door. "Be careful with the envelopes. Just leave them unopened. We'll go to the license branch first thing in the morning."

They hung their coats up.

"Okay. I'll put these with my other documents. I need to find a better place to keep those."

"I should have offered already. There's a small safe in my room. You can put them in there when we get back tomorrow."

"Thanks."


	7. Chapter 7

Sam knocked on Kurt's open door after dinner.

"Hey Sam. Come on in."

"I have your homework."

"Ugh. I had hoped you'd come home without any." Kurt got up and met Sam and took what he had in his hands.

"No such luck. I brought home the books you'd need too."

"Thanks. I'll get started on this."

"You're welcome. You're coming Friday, right?"

"Yeah, Carole figured I had to since there's a game Friday night."

"Everything should be there, but if anything else gets assigned, I'll tell you tomorrow. Have fun fixing cars all day." Sam went back to his room to work on his homework.

"Well, I guess I know what my plans for the evening are. I know what you could do though."

"What?"

"You could look through the CDs I have stored on my computer and put whatever you want on your phone. I have some of everything, except screamo. It makes me tense."

"I'm sure that I'll like a lot of it. I liked the song you played for me the other day."

"Do you know how to sync your phone to iTunes?"

"No. I didn't have any money to buy songs or CDs, so I've never used iTunes."

Kurt showed him how to do it.

"Got it."

"Of course you do." Kurt smiled at him. "I'll be over here slogging through whatever this is."

"This is our last semester of high school. You can do it."

"I'm sorry you're going to have to deal with Blaine."

"Me too. It will be a struggle, but hopefully I'll come out victorious. Regionals is in 8 weeks. We'll just have to see what happens. I'm pretty sure that even the Warblers who worship the ground he walks on wouldn't continue to if they knew what he did. It's not my place to tell them, but it burns me that he's going to waltz in and try to charm his way into taking my spot."

"At least you don't have to room with him."

"That was NOT going to happen. He's going to hit on me every day and it's all my fault. Paying attention to him was a bad choice."

"I can make sure that doesn't happen."

"Seriously? How?"

"I'll take care of it Sunday. I promise."

"Okay?"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian went to work again on Thursday, while Sam and Finn went to school. Friday, Sebastian stayed home while the other three went to school. Carole was off though, so she took Sebastian out with her to do the weekly shopping for part of the day. When they got back, he unloaded her car and helped her put the groceries away.

He cleaned the house, constantly keeping himself busy.

"Sweetie, relax. You don't have to do everyone's chores."

"I'm not good at relaxing."

"I imagine not. But you're never too old to learn."

Sebastian laughed. "I suppose not. I need something to do while I relax. At least to start with. I can't just do nothing."

"Fine. Let's see. Sudoku. We'll start with that." She got out one of her sudoku magazines and showed him how to do it. She left him sitting at the dining table working on one. She came back 15 minutes later.

He showed her that he had completed three.

"Alright, well, clearly that isn't going to work." She laughed.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, no, sweetie. You just completed three in less time than most people can finish one. Too much brain power."

"Oh, but it is relaxing because if I focus on the puzzle hard enough to complete it quickly, then I don't have time to think about anything else. And that IS the point of relaxing, right?"

"I suppose so. You could take up knitting or crocheting. Kurt knows how. He could teach you."

He just realized. "He made my scarf, didn't he?"

"Of course, sweetie. I thought you knew."

"He said he noticed I didn't have a scarf or gloves. I just thought he bought both of them."

"He started making the scarf a couple of week before Christmas. The gloves he bought. He makes mittens, but those are more for fun. "

"I see."

"You can take the magazine upstairs if you want. I have several of them stashed around the house."

"Thanks."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian startled a bit when Kurt came into the room and plopped into his chair.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you jump."

"It's fine." Sebastian pulled his earbuds out and turned the music off on his phone. "I was just listening to music."

Kurt noticed the sudoku book on the bed. "It looks like Carole is trying to get you to find a hobby?"

Sebastian laughed. "Yeah. She obviously doesn't approve of my vacuuming and dusting hobby. Too productive. I was told to relax."

"I see."

"Too bad your handwriting doesn't look like mine. You could do my pre-calculus for me."

"Do you need help?"

"No, I just don't want to do it."

"Oh. Did you get in trouble for skipping the past two days?"

"No. I turned in everything, so I'm not behind. Today was the first day Glee met, so I didn't miss out on anything. Everyone was surprised to see that Blaine wasn't there. Mr. Schue told everyone that he had transferred back to Dalton. At that point, people who never did realize that we had broken up must have figured it out and I got questioned."

"You're not still in love with him are you?"

"No. I learned a lot about myself. I've learned that I don't have to settle. I can find someone who genuinely cares about me more than getting ahead. If we had stayed together, it would have only gotten worse. He's too focused on himself. I know he will challenge you to get the lead singer position back. All I can say is that you're a better dancer. Be sure to include that in whatever way you can when he challenges you. The Warblers clearly found your leadership acceptable. He's going to have to prove why he's better. Perhaps that should be added to the challenge process. It can't just be a popularity vote. Maybe each vote should be cast by ballot and two or three reasons why the person casting the vote made the choice they did, with the council having the final say. And if the people who vote for him can't give two or three reasons why he's actually better, then maybe they could not weigh that vote as heavily. I'm not sure. I just wish he had gone somewhere else. Somewhere where I didn't have to see him, but somewhere where you didn't have to deal with him either."

"At least with the single I can make sure that he has zero access to my personal space. That's why I wouldn't accept placement in one of the doubles at all. I figured if I got placed in a room with one of his fanboys, that I'd be subjected to having him in my personal space all the time."

"Speaking of personal space, we are going shopping tomorrow."

"I don't need anything else. I already have everything, don't I?"

"Nope, not yet, but it's a surprise."

"Okay."

"I have to do at least some of this homework before I get ready for the game. You know you don't have to come if you don't want to. I know you're not a big basketball fan."

"You and Sam are my friends. So, of course, I'm going."

"Okay. Don't worry about Blaine bothering you other than challenging you for lead singer. I really will take care of that."

"Alright. I already believed you. I don't know what you're going to do, but I believe you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Saturday morning, Kurt got up really early and was super quiet and finished all of his homework before Sebastian woke up.

"Kurt?" Sebastian said when he realized that Kurt wasn't in the bed with him.

"I'm over here sitting at the vanity."

"Oh, okay."

"Get ready, we're going out."

"Out this early?"

"Yes, to have fun. I have a surprise for you, but I need a few things to finish it. We're going shopping."

"Okay. I'll be quick." Sebastian got dressed and ready to go.

Kurt put his schoolbooks away and put his boots on. They grabbed their coats, got in the Navigator and headed toward Sam's Club.

"What are we shopping for?"

"First we have to pick something up."

"You're not going to tell me are you?"

"That's pretty much the way surprises work, Bas."

They pulled into the Sam's parking lot. Kurt grabbed a cardboard tube out of the backseat before he locked the Navigator. When they got to the entrance, Kurt showed his pass and they went inside.

"So, I may have borrowed something of yours without your permission, but I think you'll like it."

Kurt walked directly to the photo processing area. He gave his name to the clerk who brought two poster-sized prints to the register. They were rolled neatly so they wouldn't get creases in them.

"Let's see how they turned out. Help me unroll them."

Kurt and Sebastian carefully unrolled the first one.

"Oh, my God, Kurt. They're my photos from France." Sebastian rolled his end back up quickly.

"Do you not like it?"

"Quite the opposite. I love it. I was afraid I'd get tears on the poster."

"Do you want to see the other one or do you want to wait?"

"Just give me a minute." He wiped his eyes and then wiped his hands on his jeans. "Okay." He helped Kurt unroll the other one. "It's perfect." He helped roll it back up.

Kurt paid for them and put them in the cardboard tube he had brought inside.

They headed over to the snack bar and grabbed a breakfast burrito for Sebastian since he had left the house without eating. After he finished eating, they went back to the Navigator.

"So, now we're headed to Goodwill to find two poster frames. I already have the wire and stuff at home to use on them so that you can hang them in your dorm room tomorrow. The long one can go on the screw in the wall at the head of the bed. And the wide one can hang over your desk."

"Am I allowed to say 'thank you'?"

"Of course, you silly. And you're welcome. I didn't mean to limit what you can say. You can say or tell me anything you want. I just didn't want you to continue to feel like you had to keep saying it for normal stuff, like feeding you and you living with us."

"Those things don't feel 'normal' to me. For me those things are extraordinary."

"I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't say how you felt. I won't do that anymore."

"Well, I love the posters."

They pulled into the Goodwill lot and Kurt parked.

"Good. Let's go inside and look for frames. They don't have to be the same color or even necessarily the same style. I have black paint at home we're going to paint them with when we get back."

"Okay."

They looked through the selection and found two frames that looked serviceable for $4 each. They looked around some more just for fun.

"Ooh. Do you like those?" Kurt pointed to some red pillows up on the top shelf.

Sebastian laughed.

"They'd go with the décor. Let's see if they're washable." Kurt pulled them down and looked at them. "What do you think? They're soft."

"Sure, if they're not too expensive."

"$3 each."

"That's good. Let's see if they have any of those chairs like we got for our room. I could use it and fold it up to get it out of the way when I'm not using it."

They looked around through the furniture, but didn't find one.

"We can stop at another store and see if we can find one. We could even go back out later this afternoon, but I want to get the frames painted this morning, so they'll be dry before we go to bed so we can put the posters in."

"Good plan."

"Have you decided what you want to do about telling people about moving?"

"I figure that I'll just deal with whatever happens. I thought I could get away with just telling a few people over time, ones that I end up spending time with, but since Blaine is going to be back, I'm sure that a lot of people will already know. He doesn't strike me as the 'keep juicy gossip to himself' type. I already know that I can make it through a whole semester with very little interaction. If that's what happens, then it happens. I'm not going to hide it or flaunt it. Whatever he knows would have originally come from Puck or Finn. And neither of them knows that I was disowned. They just know that I'm not living with my father anymore."

"That's true. My dad and Carole have never talked about why you moved in. And unless you told Sam, he doesn't know the specifics either. He knows you and your father don't get along, but that's it as far as I know. He was gone when we went out shopping with Hiram and all that stuff. He doesn't know that you left what you had behind and got new stuff. He's not big into fashion, so he won't think about how your jeans are different or notice that you're wearing a different brand of pea coat than you had before."

"I didn't tell him anything. He thinks I'm working for pay at the shop, just like him as far as I know."

"Well, he and Blaine don't speak, and he doesn't spread rumors or tell people's secrets anyway."

"Why does he not speak to Blaine?"

"He knows."

"Oh. Okay."

"I told him when he came back. He figured out in one afternoon of Glee Club that I had broken up with Blaine."

"Enough talk about Blaine. I have to face him every day starting tomorrow. Maybe I'll talk to Sam about his self-restraint techniques. Sam is very protective of you. How did he go to school every day and see Blaine and refrain from punching his lights out for what he did to you?"

"I asked him not to. Please don't retaliate on my behalf, Bas."

"I'll do my best." He let out a heavy sigh.

"Thank you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Good morning, boys. You went out early this morning."

"I had some things I wanted to get. We're doing a project."

"I figured as much. You have Goodwill bags and two large frames." She laughed.

"We'll be upstairs, if you need us."

They walked through the living room toward the stairs.

"I'll be right up. I'm going to get some newspaper first. Oh, wait. Toss those pillows into the washer before you go up."

"Okay."

Kurt came back from the garage at the same time as Sebastian came out of the laundry room. They headed up the stairs.

"Help me spread the newspaper out so we don't get paint on the floor. I'll put the eye screws on the backs while you do that." Kurt put the frames face down on the newspaper. "The paint and paintbrushes are on the vanity, but we need to change first." Kurt opened the dresser and took out two old t-shirts and some old sweats. He handed a set of clothes to Sebastian and then headed into the bathroom. Sebastian changed in the closet.

"Alright. We'll paint the backs first since we'll just put one coat in the back." Kurt put the paint in between the two frames and they both got to work. Once they were done, Kurt said, "Let's go eat lunch."

"Sounds good."

"This paint dries really quickly. We can probably flip them over in an hour. Let's move the pillows to the dryer and make something to eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They went into the kitchen to find that Carole had cooked for them while they were upstairs painting.

"You didn't have to cook for us," Kurt said.

"I know, but I wanted to."

"Thank you," Sebastian said.

"You're welcome, sweetie. So, what's the project?"

They sat down at the dining room table and ate together.

"We're decorating my dorm room," Sebastian said. "Kurt was sneaky and took some of the photos I had taken in France and had them printed poster sized. One has 16 vertical shots and the other has 16 horizontal shots. He had them printed on a black background with white borders, so it sort of has this windowpane effect. They're really cool. I love them. You can come see when we get them framed. We're working on painting the frames."

"That sounds really lovely. I'd love to see them. I've never been very far from Ohio."

"I've not been many places either. I've always wanted to travel around France some day. I love Paris, but there are so many really cool places like castles that I've only ever seen pictures of."

"I've seen some photos of castles and I always thought it would be so cool to go to one for real."

"Maybe some day," Sebastian said.

She nodded.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian put a coat of paint on the fronts of the frames when they got back upstairs.

"So, I say we go back out later and look for a chair. Maybe we can go out for dinner. We'll take Sam too, if he wants to go - a last fun night out before you have to go back to school."

"Sounds good."

Kurt texted Sam. Almost instantly his phone buzzed. "Sam's in."

"Alright."

"I'm going to cut the wire. That way I can put all of the tools away while we wait for them to dry."

"I'll go ahead and start to pack. I'll do laundry once we come back tonight. Maybe we can find another couple pairs of pajama pants while we're out."

Kurt went to put the tools away. He had the pillows in his hand when he came back upstairs. "They got left in the dryer."

"Thanks. They really are soft. My room is going to look so cool. I've never had anything in my room before."

"Well, now you will."

"I won't feel like I have to hide anymore."

"Good."

Sebastian pulled all of his clothes out and folded them and put them in his suitcase.

"I think we can go ahead and do the touch up coat. The first coat seems to be dry and actually looks pretty good."

Sebastian moved so he could see the frames better. "They look fine to me the way they are, but we can touch up whatever you think needs done."

They worked to finish the project. Kurt was in the bathroom cleaning the brushes when Sam came in.

"Knock, knock."

"Sam, you can see me standing here. Just come in," Sebastian said.

"Ooh, nice frames."

Kurt came out of the bathroom. "They're for Bas' dorm room. I got some of his photos printed. You can see when we come back."

"I have a question," Sebastian said. "Can I photocopy the painting you did of us at Christmas? I'd like to put that in my room too."

"Sure," Sam said.

"Thanks." He turned and took the painting off the wall and laid it on the bed. He took a few of his other photos down and put them on the bed and took the photos out and laid them with the painting. "I'd like to go back to Sam's and copy these so I can put them in my room too."

"Okay. Let's change." Kurt and Sebastian went opposite directions and changed back into the clothes they had been wearing earlier.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Four hours later they were back. Sebastian returned the original photos to their frames and put them back on the shelf. He hung Sam's painting back on the wall.

"Can you get that cover off the chair, Sam?"

"Sure. At least I think so."

"I'm going to go get the glass cleaner, some paper towels, and more newspaper," Kurt said.

Sebastian slipped back into the closet to put the work clothes on that he had been wearing and then he took his laundry down and put it in to wash. He took the seat cover with him.

When he got back upstairs, Kurt had gotten the plexiglass on the poster frames clean.

"Alright. Are we ready for assembly? Three people will be even better than two."

"Sure," Sam said. "Just tell me what to do."

"Sebastian and I will unroll the poster and hold it in the frame in position. Then you take the backing and lay it on top. We'll fasten it in after that and I'll put the wire on that I cut earlier."

"Good plan," Sam said.

They all did their jobs and 10 minutes later both posters were framed.

"Are you ready for the reveal?"

Sam laughed. "Of course."

Kurt and Sebastian each picked up one of the frames and held it up.

"Oooh. Those are nice. I love the windowpane effect. Very cool."

"Let's wrap them in newspaper. We can put the bulletin board we got in between them once they're wrapped."

"We can't do that yet," Kurt said. "We told Carole we'd let her see."

"That's right," Sebastian replied. "I'll go find her."

"We still have to get the painting print into its frame. I'll do that." Kurt took the glass out of the frame and cleaned it.

Sam got the copy out of the sack and put it in and closed the back. "It needs wire like the poster frames."

"I'll go get it," Kurt said.

Sebastian moved his clothes to the dryer before went to find Carole. When he got back upstairs, Kurt had finished.

"Alright, boys. Let me see," Carole said as she followed Sebastian into the room.

They did their reveal again. Carole walked over to the posters and looked at each photo.

"These are really lovely. I like the whole design too. Nice job."

"Thanks," Kurt and Sebastian said in unison.

Carole went back downstairs.

"Now, we can wrap them in newspaper," Kurt said.

"Let's wrap the painting print up too. It can just go in my satchel. Just wrap the photos I printed inside the newspaper with the frame. I'm going to put them on the bulletin board."

Sam wrapped it while Kurt and Sebastian wrapped the poster frames.

"Well, dudes this has been fun, but I promised Finn I'd play COD at 9:00."

"Have fun shooting things," Kurt said.

"I will."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian looked at his phone and panicked. "Kurt," he tried to wake him gently. "Kurt you're going to miss your lessons."

"I cancelled them earlier this week. I wanted to stay home this morning."

"Why?"

"I just did."

"Alright. I'll let you sleep."

"I was going to get up at 6:30 anyway."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"I'm going back to sleep."

"Okay." Kurt got up and went downstairs. He made French toast and bacon for Sebastian, turkey sausage for himself, eggs, orange juice and coffee. Once it was ready, he went upstairs and got Sebastian. "Hey, sleepyhead. I made us breakfast. Come on."

"Mmm. Okay." He sat up, stretched, and got out of the bed.

He followed Kurt back down to the kitchen. Kurt had covered their plates with a second plate turned upside down to keep the food warm. Sebastian picked up the second plate and slipped it underneath.

"This look fabulous. Thank you. You didn't need to go to so much trouble."

"Bas, look at me." He waited for Sebastian to look. "I cook for the people I care about. You aren't any trouble. And you're welcome."

Sebastian put syrup on his French toast and ate every bite of food on his plate. "Fantastic, as always." He got up and took all of the plates and put them in the dishwasher. "This is a great invention. I love dishwashers."

Kurt laughed. "They've been around since like decades ago."

"Yeah, but I never had one. I think Americans totally overestimate the size of flats in Paris. Those Ikea catalogs with all of the storage that can fit along a wall and the photos of bathrooms half the size of yours - that's all normal. The flat I lived in was maybe 33 sq m."

"I don't know how big that is." Kurt took out his phone and used a converter. "Oh, wow. That's only around 350 sq ft. That's tiny."

"So, my room is smaller than my single dorm room. My mother's room is about the same size as my dorm room, so is the living room. Then the kitchen and bathroom take up the rest of the space. We did not have a full size refrigerator like this or a full size stove. No room for a dishwasher or washing machine."

"I see. This house is a lot bigger than the last house my dad and I lived in. It had one bedroom on the main level and a kitchen and a living room. My dad had a garage and basement put on as an addition when I was three or four, whenever I got big enough to not sleep in the crib in their room anymore. Then my bedroom was in the basement. It was concrete block walls, but he did have a bathroom put in down there. I had a lot of space to move around. My room here is smaller, but there's a lot more room overall."

When Sebastian finished the dishes, he asked, "You want to go back upstairs and read?"

"Sure."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They headed to Dalton at 2:00, since Sebastian had been told to arrive before 4:00 to retrieve his room key.

They brought everything up from the Navigator. They hung up the posters and added the rest of the decorative items.

"So, what do you think?" Kurt asked as he plopped down in Sebastian's desk chair looking around his dorm room.

"I think it looks fantastic. I love the posters. The chair looks great. So do the pillows. The bulletin board is cool. I like it. A lot."

"Good. I'm glad."

"I'll be back in a little bit. You can unpack or whatever you want."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt called Blaine. "Blaine?"

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, confused. "I didn't expect to hear from you."

"I suppose not, but I'm here at Dalton. I need to speak with you in private. Please meet me in the study room on the 3rd floor. I doubt there's anyone in there."

"Alright." Blaine went to the study room.

Kurt checked around and the room was empty. He waited for Blaine to arrive. After he did, Kurt closed the door behind them and put a chair in front of it, and sat down in the chair, making it impossible to open the door from the hallway.

Blaine gave him a weird look.

"I don't want interrupted." Kurt pointed to another chair. "Sit, please."

Blaine sat down.

"First of all, I want to thank you for leaving me alone at McKinley after we broke up. I was pleasantly surprised that you didn't try to badmouth Sebastian, at least not to my face. I really appreciate you not causing more division in the group than already existed. I know that you made friends with Rachel and Artie and some other people."

"She was upset with me because I didn't tell her that I was transferring back here for spring semester. But eventually she got over it and we're still friends."

"You tried to transfer back right after the musical, didn't you?"

He nodded.

"You weren't allowed to because there were no compelling reasons to transfer mid-semester."

"Correct."

"So, you already knew you were coming back here and you didn't want to end up on the receiving end of a punch from Finn if he found out what you had done. He may not be my biggest fan, but my dad let him have it the last time he didn't defend me from someone who was hurting me. If you had gotten suspended for fighting, you could have jeopardized your ability to come back here for this semester."

"I just wanted the semester to end as quickly as possible. I had to wait until the beginning of the spring semester to re-enroll. I just tried to keep my head down and mind my own business."

"Well, as self-centered as your reasons were, I do appreciate the lack of drama."

"I just want to go back being a Warbler and my life here."

"You need to remember that Sebastian is the chosen lead singer of the Warblers right now. He rightfully won that position through audition, just like I'm assuming you did last year."

"Yeah, I know. He's a charmer. He's smooth and a good dancer, but I still want my position back."

"And if you want to regain that position, you'll have to challenge him and play by the rules. Do not use your fanboys to boost your voting. You need to stay honest. I was at their Sectionals performance. They are better than we were last year. With Wes gone, the group has been able to step outside the box more and perform more. Sebastian has them dancing much better than we ever did last year."

"I've seen the video."

"You have a huge need to be the center of attention. Something I think you might actually want to seek some counseling about. You're good. There's no denying that. But you alienate people who don't put you on the pedestal you think you deserve. Or you charm your way up to the top."

"That's harsh."

"But honest, from my perspective. Last year, when I accused you of treating the Warblers like it was 'Blaine and the Pips', you convinced the council to let me sing with you. I was so head over heels for you and I wanted to sing lead so badly that I let myself get pulled back into your fanboy group. I was getting fed up with your showboating, so you offered to share the spotlight. When you thought I might leave you and stop being your number one fan, you offered me something."

Blaine didn't say anything.

"Think about your reaction to Sam's suggestions when he came back. You got all bent out of shape because he was suggesting that we be sexy. Last year, you had us learn 'Animal' and perform for the girls at Crawford County Day so we could see if we were 'sexified', I believe was the term you used. So, when it was Sam's idea it was horrible and making us act like we were 'for sale', but when it was your idea, it was a good one."

"He was doing moves he had learned as a stripper. That's different."

"Tom-a-to, to-mah-to. Using sexy moves to win. Same difference. Plus, he wasn't exactly a stripper. He just danced in the equivalent of very short swim trunks or boxer briefs. He wasn't naked. Plus, he wasn't doing anything illegal. He was already 18. You acted like he was being a pervert. Exotic dancers are not perverts. It was awfully judgmental of you considering your interest in porn, which is people being paid to have sex and video record it. Being paid to dance in your underwear is a lot less risqué than being a porn star."

"Let's not talk about porn, since I know how much you dislike talking about sex."

"Well, mostly I didn't want to talk about how unsexy I was. It was just another lesson in how unattractive I was. It wasn't like I needed you to tell me that. I was already aware of my lack of physical attractiveness. It was humiliating. I'm not sexy. I already know that. I mean you had to get drunk to even consider doing more than chastely kiss me. Back when you offered to tell me what you knew, I already knew the whole insert tab A into slot B part of it. I'm not stupid. It's not like I had never looked the information up. I just didn't want to talk about it with someone who found me so unattractive. If you'll remember that was right after you agreed to go on a date with Rachel and had friend-zoned me."

"Right," Blaine answered nonchalantly.

Kurt was getting frustrated with Blaine seeming refusal to take responsibility for any of his actions. "When I left to go back to McKinley, you got the Warblers to back you up and you serenaded me. When you came to enroll at McKinley, somehow the Cheerios ended up being your back up. Both times, though, the spotlight was on you. You knew how badly I needed Tony. You knew that I couldn't spend my summer working at a theme park part time making minimum wage and gaining experience because I needed the money I could make working at my dad's shop full time. I have to work afterschool, making it hard to be in many clubs, even if I was welcome. I work too late to even try to be in a local production, something you could easily have done."

"I wanted to be part of what was going on at school."

"Which you could have done just as easily by joining another club like the drama club or anything. You didn't have to take the role I needed, especially after you told me that you wouldn't."

"I know."

"There. That's the issue. That's why I think you need to go to counseling. You seem to be incapable of actually apologizing. Never once when we talked that night on the stage did you ever actually say you were sorry. You see yourself as the one person who should be in the spotlight, and when you hurt people, you don't even apologize. What you did to me borders on criminal. If I hadn't gotten away, it would have been for sure. And still, nearly three months later, you just act like you didn't do anything to apologize for."

"I don't know what to say, Kurt. I already told you I wouldn't drink anymore."

"Here's what you're going to do. You're going to stay away from Sebastian. I know you'll both be in the Warblers, but you are going to stay away from him otherwise. Do not attempt to pair up with him for class projects. Do not hit on him. Do not interact with him."

"Why does he matter to you?"

"He matters because he's a human being and he matters to me because he's my friend."

"Puck said he was living with you, but I thought he was just making stuff up to rattle my chain since we weren't together anymore."

"You need to consider counseling. I know the school has a counselor. A real one, who's licensed."

"Fine. Are we done?"

"Are you going to stay away from Sebastian and play fair when it comes to challenging him for lead Warbler?"

"There's a vote. That makes it fair."

"Don't bother Sebastian. Leave him alone."

"I already said that I would."

"Your word doesn't mean much to me these days, but I'm serious." Kurt got up and moved the chair and headed back to Sebastian's room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt knocked on Sebastian's door. He opened it and let Kurt in.

"I've dealt with Blaine. Who all is on the council this year?"

"David, Thad, and Trent."

"We're eating with them tonight. Let's go find them."

"Okay. I was going to give you the tour."

Kurt's expression changed from determined to excited. "Well, by all means, show me."

Sebastian showed Kurt that he had hung his clothes in the closet, put his other items in the drawers, put his binders on the shelves, his computer on his desk, and all of his hygiene products in the bathroom.

"It's perfect," Kurt said.

"I agree. Let's go eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Hey, Kurt!" Trent said as Kurt found him in the cafeteria.

"Hey, Trent. I'd like to eat with you and Thad and David, if you can find them."

"Sure. I'll go look for them and we'll sit over by the window."

Kurt and Sebastian went through the line and found Trent. David and Thad joined them. They had mostly finished eating already, but brought their trays and sat down.

"Hey, guys! Thanks for sitting with us."

"No problem. If Jeff and Nick see you in here, I'm sure they'll be over too," Thad said.

"So, Blaine is back," Kurt said.

"What?" David asked.

"Blaine re-enrolled. He is going to challenge Sebastian for lead Warbler. I would like to make a suggestion to the council as a former insider and current outsider. Nepotism in prep schools is huge. The whole 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' is why half of the parents send their kids to these types of schools. To keep the money centralized. To keep the power that the money brings centralized. And the other issue at hand is just a straight-up popularity contest, which is common in all high schools. We've had supposed duet competitions in the New Directions where each person had to participate and in the secret ballot afterwards, the winning couple won by two votes. One couple voted for someone besides themselves swaying and deciding the whole election."

The others laughed. "You shouldn't be able to vote for yourself," Trent said.

"Exactly. I'm suggesting that when it comes to Sebastian versus Blaine that you assign a song to sing that is in a range they can both comfortably sing. After they each perform, that's when people vote. But rather than having the two of them leave the room and voting by a show of hands, I suggest that you hand out ballots and you require each voter to indicate two reasons why the person they chose should be selected. Then collect up the votes and give the results the next day."

"Why the next day?" David asked.

"Because then the three of you can actually read each of the slips. Slips from people who cannot justify their choice, should go in a third pile. See how many votes each person gets that have legitimate reasons. 'He did a better job.' is not a legitimate reason, whereas 'He stayed on pitch.' would be."

"I get it," Thad said.

"Blaine has a lot of fanboys here. But the honest truth is that you are better as a group now than we were last year. Your dance moves are vastly improved and to be honest, Sebastian is a better lead. He is charming and fun to watch, but he stays back close enough to the group and he dances along with the group, which shows that he feels like the leader of the group rather than a soloist with a vocal band for backup."

"This won't help the New Directions," Trent pointed out.

"I realize that. But it's the truth. If you three let Blaine come in and plow his way back to the forefront and shove the rest of the Warblers back into the 'Blaine and the Pips' era, it will not help you win. Obviously, I have no power or say-so here, but I'm saying what I'm saying because it's true. You sat at my house not that long ago and bemoaned the fact that the council didn't listen to me when I had ideas when I was here before. Just think about what I've said. Watch the video from Sectionals this year and last year. Compare the two. You'll see that I'm right."

"We know you're right," David said. "The issue is more a matter of procedure."

"Well, then someone needs to dig deep into the rules and regulations and perhaps you can find something that will be useful to make this a fair situation."

"What happened between the two of you?" Trent asked quietly. "You were the de facto president of the Blaine fanboy club last year."

Kurt took a deep breath. "I learned that his aspirations for the limelight supersede his ability to keep his word. I also learned that he is incapable of admitting he was wrong and apologizing."

"Wow," Trent said. "I'm shocked at the honor issue. I mean that's one thing that's drilled into our heads around here. A lot of people are terrible at apologizing. It's humiliating, so that's less shocking, I guess."

"You're probably right about the apologizing. People in positions of power tend to apologize by saying things like 'I'm sorry you got hurt.' As opposed to saying 'I'm sorry I hurt you.' Taking responsibility for our actions proves that we've grown past being children though. Children blame shift. 'My sister told me to do it.' type of thing. Adults are supposed to be able to say 'I made the wrong choice.' And then learn from their mistakes. As long as someone keeps blaming other people, that person never has to face the consequences of their own actions."

"I never really thought about it," David said. "But what you're saying makes sense. People in positions of power do like to pass the buck and blame someone lower than them to save face. But it is pretty childish when you think about it."

Jeff and Nick walked up. "Hey, now. How come the four of you are hogging my favorite Warbler?" Jeff asked and scooted in next to Kurt.

"I thought I was your favorite Warbler," Nick said. "He's not even a current Warbler."

"That's because we were dumb and didn't just pay his tuition for the second half of the spring semester last year," Jeff said. "Between the 15 of us, we could have come up with it, easily." Jeff put his arm around Kurt's shoulders. "It's our own fault that he left."

The five of them that had been sitting there laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jeff asked.

"Oh, we were just talking about personal responsibility and passing the buck and you came over sat down and straight up said that we had the ability to keep Kurt here and we blew it," Trent said.

"Ah. Well, it's true," Jeff responded. "We let Wes and his gavel run the show when we could have outvoted him and listened to Kurt." Jeff looked at David and Thad. "And there's no one to blame but Wes and the two of you for that travesty of a duet that he and Blaine did at Regionals. A break up song about being alright about being alone sung as a duet by two boys in Ohio in a key that strained Blaine's voice? And on top of that, we practically just stood there while they sang. There was not a chance we were going to beat the New Directions with that."

"Blaine's back," Trent said.

"Oh," Jeff said. "So, he's going to try to take over again."

"That's what I'm figuring," Kurt said.

"Just when we were finally doing well," Nick said.

"Well, I won't go down without a fight," Sebastian said. "But I won't be antagonistic if he wins. I may choose not to participate any longer though. It just depends. I sing and dance because I love it. And if it becomes a stressor in my life, then it will have to go because I want to at least attempt to get on the lacrosse team and I have to continue to do well in my classes."

"I get it. I think most of us are in the Warblers because it's something we can do that's actually fun, and since it's a prestigious club to be in here at Dalton, our parents don't mind us being a part of it," Thad said.

"Well, it was nice to see you again, Kurt. I'm going to go back upstairs and unpack," David said.

"Me too. Don't be a stranger, but no spying," Thad said, laughing.

"I don't need to spy to know that if Sebastian stays lead Warbler that we have our work cut out for us," Kurt said.

The remaining five of them ate and talked for a while.

Trent was the first to get up. "It was good to see you, Kurt. Come back and see us more often."

"I'll do that," Kurt said.

"So, do you two want to come up to my room with me and Kurt for a while before he has to head back to Lima?"

"Sure," Jeff said.

Nick nodded.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt sat in Sebastian's desk chair. Sebastian was in the moon chair. Nick and Jeff were sitting on Sebastian's bed.

"What made you invite us in?" Jeff asked. "Last semester, I tried and tried and you kept me at bay, only occasionally agreeing to do anything with us."

"There was a reason for that. I'm still debating whether to tell you."

"Oh."

"First, I want to ask you a few questions."

"Um, okay," Nick said.

"Do either of you know who my father is?"

"Mr. Smythe?" Jeff guessed.

"That would be my guess too since that's your last name."

"What do your dads do?"

Jeff answered first. "My dad is an orthopedic surgeon in Cleveland."

"My dad is in practice with his dad. He's a hand surgeon," Nick said.

"So you two aren't even from the Columbus area?"

"Nope," Jeff said. "We went to a private middle school in Cleveland before we came here for high school. Why?"

"Well, sort of that nepotism thing that Kurt was talking about. I didn't want to put the two of you in a position of knowing something that could cause issues between families. But I'm pretty certain that's not the case with the two of you since your fathers aren't politicians or lawyers."

"I'm lost," Nick said.

"I wouldn't let anyone in here last semester or let anyone get close to me because my father was blackmailing me to do what he wanted, only I refused. So, last semester I had nothing in here that wasn't Dalton issued other than 2 day's worth of clothes and pajamas. I had one uniform. Nothing else."

"What?" Jeff asked. "Wait. So, you wouldn't hang out with us because you didn't want us to find out that you didn't have anything?"

"Exactly. I had to barter with people to even get some basic school supplies."

"But you had an expensive satchel and a brand new, top of the line MacBook," Nick said.

"Yes, for show. Anything that could be seen had to fit his image. The fact that I had nothing else was supposed to bring me to my senses and do what he wanted. He didn't want to be publicly humiliated, but he wanted me to have no recourse other than to do what he wanted."

"And so you gave in?" Nick asked.

"No, he told him to shove it," Jeff said. "Kurt's here with him. He was at Kurt's after their Sectionals in regular clothes. He didn't show up representing the Warblers openly spying on the New Directions. He was there as Kurt's friend."

"Jeff's right. I cut my ties. I've been disowned. He's paying for this semester because it was part of his agreement with my mother."

"So, you gave up your what? Everything?" Nick asked.

"Yes. What he wanted is never going to happen. Not now or in the future. So, I cut my ties. Kurt's family took me in. I live with them in Lima now."

"Wow. That takes guts," Nick said.

"Yes and no. Kurt's family has been more of a family to me in the two weeks that I've lived with them than either of my parents have been my entire life. Choosing to go where I'm wanted and walking away from a life of lies to get cash isn't really that hard of a choice. I can work and make my own money. I don't have to live a life of lies to get money. I couldn't work last semester because he had my social security card and the documents I needed to get a job."

"So, he wouldn't give you any money and then also prevented you from working?" Nick asked.

"Yes."

"So, you avoided us so that we couldn't possibly make it worse by your dad finding out that you had somehow gotten some money?" Nick asked.

"Not so much that, but I just didn't want people to know. I was so out place here. Yes, I speak English well, but that's because I had American au pairs as a young child and I learned to speak English at the same time I learned French. But that didn't mean that I have any real understanding of American culture or anything. I was dropped off into a school where I was an absolute outsider. I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't know much of anything. I was taking 9 classes and just trying to survive."

"And now?" Jeff asked.

"And now I work for Kurt's dad and now I can tutor this semester because I got my documents back from my father."

"And you've been shopping with the king of shopping it seems," Jeff said.

"I have. And he surprised me with the posters."

"They're really cool. I've not seen anyone else with any like them," Jeff said.

"That's because he used photos I took to make them."

"That's even more cool," Nick said. He looked over at Kurt. "You're awfully quiet."

"Just thinking," Kurt said.

"About what?" Jeff asked.

"A lot of 'What ifs'."

"What really happened between you and Blaine?" Jeff asked.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Trent, Thad, and David. I learned that his aspirations for the limelight supersede his ability to keep his word. And that he is incapable of admitting he was wrong and apologizing."

"That's very vague," Jeff said.

"Well, you know me well enough to know that I don't air my laundry publicly, especially not my dirty laundry."

"How about this then. When did you break up and who broke it off?"

"I broke up with him not quite three months ago. After the opening night of _West Side Story_."

"I didn't realize that it was that long ago," Nick said.

"Yeah."

Jeff got up off the bed. "I've got unpacking left to do, so I better get going. "It's been nice seeing you tonight, Kurt. Don't be a stranger," "

Nick followed him and added, "Come visit more often. I've got to get unpacked as well."

They approached the door.

Sebastian stood up. "Before you leave, I'm going to ask you to keep what I told you to yourselves. I'd like to start by spending more time with the two of you since we were already sort of friendly last semester. I figured I might be able to work myself into being social slowly without anyone else finding out why I was so standoffish last semester."

"We wouldn't have told anyone anyway. We're not like that," Nick said. "We're part of the 'nouveaux riche' here. We're both first generation students. We aren't part of the group of 'old money' here. Our parents don't have trust funds for us. They have the money to send us to whatever good college we get into, but they aren't holding our college money or trust funds over our heads to force us into anything. But we've met enough people in your situation to know what you were dealing with. You're just the first one I've met that didn't kowtow to their father's demands."

"That's like unheard of here," Jeff said. "And amazingly brave. Like Nick said, we won't tell anyone. And I'm glad you're happier and have a real home to go home to now."

They opened the door and headed off to unpack. Sebastian shut the door after they left.

Kurt stood after Sebastian closed the door. He stepped toward him and hugged him. He stepped back again. "That was really brave of you."

"I hope it works. And they keep their word and don't say anything to anyone."

"Me too. That was part of my 'what if?' thinking. What would my life be like now if I had been able to stay here last year and then through this year? I would have definitely learned more academically. Going back to McKinley has been nothing but boring. But I would probably still be with Blaine and that would have been bad for me in the long run. Every fork in the road leads to so many others, small and big. A few choices and you're a long way from where the choices could have led."

"All very true. One choice I'm glad you made was that you came here that day to talk to me. You made me think about things."

"You did the same for me. I really do wish I could stay, but I need to go before I get too tired to drive an hour and a half in the dark."

This time Sebastian hugged Kurt. "I'll walk you down to the visitor's lot."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian went back up to his room, showered, and got ready for bed. He came out of the bathroom into his room, which felt like a new room, even though he'd already spent 5 months in it alone, with barely more in it than a prison cell – a very nice prison cell, but still very solitary.

Now, he looked around and photos of his favorite places were hanging on the walls, the painting of him and Kurt and Sam was there. The photos from Christmas and a few others were on his bulletin board. Kurt's touches could be seen everywhere. It was too early to go to bed, so he got his laptop out and logged into Amazon and pulled up the sci fi series that Sam had gotten him hooked on.

Before he pressed play, he just lay there for a few minutes. As happy as he was, he already missed Kurt. He hadn't slept alone in two weeks. He had gotten used to Kurt's excited responses and the hugs. He wiped his eyes and pressed play.

He watched a full episode and figured that he couldn't text Kurt for another 45 minutes. He would get back in about 15, but 45 would give him time to get ready for bed too. He clicked the "Watch next episode" button.

When it was over, he got up and charged the laptop on his desk. He put his binder on his desk and slipped the pencil case into his satchel. He had a completely new schedule and he put it in the binder at the very front. He turned his desk lamp off and took his phone with him to bed.

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Kurt got home an hour and a half after he left. He hung his coat up and went upstairs. He got ready for bed and lay down. He looked at the empty side of his bed. He decided he'd text Sebastian and let him know that he was back safe. He picked his phone up and before he could type anything, it chimed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

To Kurt: I miss you.

Sebastian didn't have to wait long before his phone chimed.

From Kurt: My bed is empty.

To Kurt: This is going to be harder than I thought.

From Kurt: Yeah.

To Kurt: I love how my room looks now, but I like our room better.

From Kurt: You can come home on Friday. Just five days.

To Kurt: That seems like a long time from now. Good night.

From Kurt: Good night.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Monday arrived and Sebastian's new semester began. He found it strange to sit in the classroom for American Literature and American History. He was so used to studying them on his own that he was sort of frustrated to sit through listening to someone talk about any of it. He hoped it would get more interesting once they actually started the readings.

He made it through all of his classes without much trouble. The laptop worked for what he needed. He took written notes in Physics and Calculus. By last period, he was starting to dread going to Warblers practice. Finally the last bell rang. He packed his stuff up and headed down to the practice room.

He entered the room and there was Blaine being his larger than life self, sitting in his group of fanboys. Sebastian took a seat on one of the couches. David called the meeting to order.

"Welcome back Warblers. We have 8 weeks to prepare for Regionals. We will take song suggestions today. You can write your suggestions on the sheet of paper on the table." David held it up for everyone to see and then laid it on the table.

Thad spoke next. "Blaine has returned to Dalton and has already put in a request to challenge Sebastian for his spot as lead Warbler. We read through the Warblers by-laws and there were no specific guidelines for such a situation. It is unusual for a Warbler to leave the school and return mid-year. It seems that in the history of the group, it has never happened that the lead singer has left and then returned and wanted to resume his position."

"We spoke with the headmaster before coming to this decision, which will be put into the by-laws as an amendment in the rare case that this ever happens again." Trent said. "The decision that we came to is that we will assign both singers the same song to perform. Neither may be present while the other sings. They will sing in the same key with the same backing track. After each one has performed, there will be a vote by secret ballot."

David spoke again. "We realize that this breaks with the traditional vote by raised hand, but in this group, both Sebastian and Blaine have friends. Both have been the leader of the group. We do not want to cause a divide in the group because that will not help us to win at Regionals. Many of us went to watch the New Directions at their Sectionals. They were very good. We need to be united in order to have any hope of beating them."

"In addition to choosing between Blaine and Sebastian, everyone will be required to write two specific reasons why they chose the person they voted for," Thad continued. "A popularity contest is not the desired outcome. What we want is to choose the person we think has the best chance of leading us to victory."

"So, we have chosen a song – Andy Grammer's 'Keep Your Head Up'. Blaine and Sebastian will be given until Wednesday to be ready to perform. We will announce the results at the beginning of rehearsal on Thursday. We will also choose our songs for Regionals by Thursday. We will not meet tomorrow. For today, we are going to sing through the songs we sang at Sectionals once just for vocal practice. Afterwards, anyone who wants to suggest songs can come up here and do it. Oh, and I almost forgot. This year's Regionals competition has a theme – overcoming."

The group stood around the room and sang through the three songs they had sung for Sectionals. Blaine just sat and watched for a few minutes, and then he got up and horsed around, trying to join in here and there, putting on his most charismatic front that he could.

Once they finished, Sebastian went to the table and wrote down two songs on the paper. He also took the CD that David handed him with the backing track on it. He hurried out of the room in an attempt to find Jeff. He caught sight of his blond hair and hurried to catch up with him.

"Hey, Jeff. Can you do me a favor really quick?"

"Probably."

"Can you put the file on this CD on this flash drive?"

"Sure."

"The computer I have now doesn't have a CD drive. It's just a netbook."

"Follow me."

They went into the café area and sat at a table. In less than five minutes, Jeff had transferred the file to the flash drive.

"Thank you so much. I'm going to go learn this song. I've got two days to wow everyone and keep my spot."

"You're welcome and good luck."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian watched the original video of the song several times and pulled up the lyrics from the internet. He started memorizing the words and dancing around his room. He had a flash of inspiration. The one thing that Kurt kept pointing out was the he had gotten the Warblers to dance. He needed to choreograph this song for his performance. Not just the jumping around and goofing off kind of dancing that Blaine did while they were singing that afternoon. He needed real, repeatable choreography that he could do if he were actually singing lead on the song with the group.

He did as much of his schoolwork as he could do before he headed down to dinner right before the cafeteria closed. He ate quickly and went right back to his room. He turned the video on again and worked on the chorus first. He worked through the verses next. He tried to combine the story of the song into the dance itself. After working on it for an hour, he went back to his schoolwork and finished it. He got ready for bed and lay down.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt's second day of school went as most school days did. Most of the teachers hadn't really gotten into the swing of things yet and gave the students time to read in class.

Glee Club was a total surprise. They all walked into class and on the top of the white board, Mr. Schue had written "OVERCOMING" and underneath he had written "What Doesn't Kill You" (Stronger) – Troubletones. Underneath that was "I Can Fly". At the bottom was a question mark with ballad solo.

Kurt was shocked. Eight weeks until Regionals and they were already going to start preparing?

Rachel started to speak.

Kurt raised his hand, "Mr. Schue?"

"Yes, Kurt."

"I'd like to make a suggestion for the solo. I think anyone who wants to sing the solo should audition by singing a song that fits the theme. And then we should vote by secret ballot, but no one who auditions can vote in the first round. After the first votes are tallied we vote again between the top two and that time everyone can vote."

"That's an interesting option."

Rachel was clearly unhappy with Kurt's idea. She had obviously expected the solo to be handed to her again.

"If I may – every time we've had the ability to vote, each person votes for themselves or their own duet and then whoever wins is just because one person didn't vote for themselves. So, this time if five of us want the solo, then the other 9 would vote. The top two from that vote would be voted on by all 14 of us."

"That seems reasonable to me. What does everyone else think?"

There was a lot of head nodding.

"Is anyone opposed to the idea?"

No one said anything. Although Rachel's face clearly indicated that she was displeased.

"Then please raise your hand if you'd like to be considered for the ballad."

Kurt interrupted, "Mr. Schue can we talk about "I Can Fly" for a minute first? Is it going to be a solo with the whole choir singing back up or is it going to be broken down into featured singers throughout the whole song?"

"It will have featured sections. But there may be one person who sings more than the others."

"So, you already have it planned out?"

"Mostly, yes. But the featured people could possibly be changed around."

"Alright. I'd like to add my name to the solo audition. I'd like to sing 'You are Loved'."

"Alright. Anyone else?"

"Me." Rachel said. "I'd like to sing 'Here's to us'."

Mercedes and Santana looked at each other, but neither said anything.

Tina raised her hand. "I'd like to sing 'Skyscraper'."

Mr. Schue added it to the list.

The last person to raise her hand was Sugar. "Mr. Schue, I'd like to sing 'Eye of the Tiger'."

He added her name to the list. "Anyone else?"

No hands went up.

"Alright, then. We have four candidates who should be ready to sing on Thursday. We're going to sing through 'I Can Fly' with the piano and band with everyone singing the melody. I just want everyone to get a feel for the song."

They sang through it a couple of times.

"That's it for today. I'll see all of you on Thursday. We won't meet tomorrow or Wednesday since I want the potential soloists to work hard on their pieces. After the soloist is chosen we'll work on breaking down 'I Can Fly'."

Kurt took Sam to the shop to work until closing. They headed home for dinner afterwards. Kurt ate quickly and asked to be excused. He cleared his own place and went upstairs. He pulled up "You are Loved" and started working on it. He emailed Trevor and asked him if he had time to listen to an audio file and give pointers the next evening.

After working on it for a while, he switched to his homework and finished it quickly since so many of the teachers had given study time in class during the day. He showered and got ready for bed. He worked on the song more before lying down to go to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

To Kurt: The challenge was issued today. I have until Wednesday to prepare the song I was given.

From Kurt: I have until Thursday to prepare to sing the solo I'm hoping to get for Regionals.

Sebastian's phone rang and he answered it. "The council is doing the voting just the way you suggested on Sunday."

"Really?"

"Really. I guess there's no precedent for a previous lead singer coming back to the school."

"Well, two shocking things then. Mr. Schue accepted my suggestion on how to choose the soloist for Regionals."

"That is shocking."

"I know."

They talked for a while. Both of them felt better than they had the night before with just the texts.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday Sebastian did the minimum on his homework and spent the rest of his evening working on his song and choreography.

Kurt did the same thing, but he still had to work. When he came in the door, Sam greeted him with a huge smile on his face. He had stayed after school for an extra basketball practice instead of going to the shop.

"What's with the smile?"

Sam pulled an envelope out from behind his back and handed it to Kurt. He opened it and read it carefully.

"You did it!" Kurt bear hugged him, but he was prepared for it, so he didn't fall back.

"I did it! I'm staying."

"I'm so glad for you."

"Me too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Sam passed those state tests. He's going to stay and graduate with me at McKinley!"

"That's great. I know how much he hated the idea of going back to Kentucky to finish out the school year."

"Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"As ready as I'm going to get."

"I wish I could watch you."

"I can see if I can get Jeff to record it surreptitiously."

"See if he can manage it. Get him to record Blaine too. That way you can see his take on the song. And it would give the council some recourse if Blaine complains that it was unfair."

"Good idea. What song are you singing?"

"Can't tell you. If I win, I'm going to sing it for Regionals."

"From what you've said before, it's shocking that you all are already starting to work on songs for Regionals. You said in the past, your director has waited until the week before."

"He's waited until the day before. Last year at Nationals, we left for New York and didn't have a song list and we WROTE those songs and learned everything after we got there. We placed 12th, which isn't horrible or anything, and if Finn and Rachel hadn't made out on stage, we might have done a lot better. But maybe he's finally learned that teaching us to be procrastinators isn't good? I don't know. It's definitely weird."

They continued to talk for quite a while.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Wednesday seemed to last forever for Sebastian. He was nervous. He wanted to continue to be lead Warbler, but he didn't know if he could win. In some ways, he didn't know if he actually wanted to win. The whole thing was stressful. He got an encouraging text from Kurt right after the last period bell rang, which made him smile. He headed into the Warblers room and waited to for the meeting to start.

David called the meeting to order and asked Sebastian to step out of the room. He had already talked to Jeff who had agreed to record both of their performances. He waited in the hall for a little less than five minutes and then Blaine came out with his satchel and headed down the hall. Sebastian stepped inside the room.

"Just tell us when you're ready and we'll press the start button."

"Can we slide the table over out of the way so I have a little more room?"

"Sure," David said.

David, Thad, and Trent got up and moved the table behind the couch closest to the door. They sat back down at their spots.

Sebastian moved to the center of the space and nodded. David pressed play on the CD player.

Sebastian told the story in the verses through his hand and body movements mixed with some dance steps. Each chorus he did he same dance moves. He didn't forget any of the words and stayed on pitch and kept in time with the backing track. When he finished everyone clapped.

"Thank you, Sebastian," Trent said. "You're free to leave. We'll take the vote and tomorrow in rehearsal we'll announce the winner and start to work on our first piece for Regionals.

Sebastian nodded, picked up his satchel and headed off to his room to do his homework.

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Kurt and Sam headed to the shop right after school and worked for two hours and headed home. Kurt wanted time to work more on his song after dinner, so he wanted get his homework done before they ate.

He spent the evening working on it and coming up with he right outfit to wear to sing it. After he was certain about his outfit, he showered and got in bed early. He listened to music for a while. Eventually, he texted Sebastian. Sebastian emailed him the video files of the two performances.

From Kurt: Did you watch them?

To Kurt: No, I don't really like watching myself perform. It just feels weird. It's not so bad when it's the whole group because I can focus on the other people, but this was just me. I did watch Blaine's.

From Kurt: Well, I'll watch both and text you when I finish.

Kurt got his laptop out and opened the files and watched them. Blaine did lot of his typical emoting - large, mostly overdone expressions. He danced around a bit, but nothing really planned. He did try to get a little too close to people in an attempt to engage the group members. He sang on pitch. His timing and diction were good. It was a typical Blaine presentation of a song.

Sebastian's movements were planned, that was obvious, but they weren't robotic nor did they appear to be something that Sebastian was focusing on instead of the song he was singing. Each chorus had the same steps. Steps that could be done by the whole group and look good. Sebastian stayed in the open area and didn't go out into the seating area and schmooze. He genuinely portrayed the upbeat nature of the song. He found Sebastian's presentation to be better than Blaine's.

He texted Sebastian.

From Kurt: I think you did a fabulous job and you were definitely better than Blaine.

To Kurt: Thank you.

Kurt called. "This could still go either way. Blaine was very much himself in his version of the song – charming, charismatic, and attention grabbing."

"But you think I did a better job?"

"Definitely. I like the choreography. It shows that you put a lot of effort into your presentation and performance. You didn't just wing it and hope for the best. You thought about how you could sing the lead on this song and turn it into a Warblers performance piece."

"Thank you. How's your song coming?"

"I've been working on it. I sent Trevor an audio file Tuesday evening. He sent me his suggestions today. I incorporated them the best I could this evening when I practiced. This piece is very different for me. Trevor's been having me work on strengthening my lower range and helping me feel more confident singing in that range. So, I guess we'll see tomorrow. I think people will be surprised. I guess we'll see whether it's a surprise they enjoy or not. I guess we'll both know before 4:00 tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"You sound down."

"It's harder to be here than it was before. I'm trying."

"Why is it harder?"

Sebastian was quiet for a few seconds. "Because I'm alone again. I will do things with Jeff and Nick like I said. But being challenged on the first day of classes made me spend the last two evenings working on my performance and tonight I had to work my tail off to get caught up on reading assignments that I let slide to work on the music. So, it's just been classes and me in my room for three days."

"I can understand that. I've spent the last three nights doing the same thing. Plus, I just straight up miss you being here. I'm looking forward to Friday. Then you'll be home."

"I'll leave as soon as I can after school. I'm looking forward to it too."


	8. Chapter 8

Classes finally ended and Kurt headed to the choir room. He walked in and sat against the wall in the back row. Sam came in and sat down next to him. It didn't take long for everyone else to get there.

Mr. Schue came in with a shoebox in his hand. "Would the four people auditioning today please come take a number." Kurt drew a 4. "Alright, whoever drew the number 1, come up and sing for us. I'd like each person to sing and for the rest of you to refrain from clapping, singing along or doing anything to distract our performers. So, please sit up and focus."

Sugar stood up and moved to the front. She was wearing a tiger print jacket with faux fur trim and wearing a headband with furry ears that matched her jacket. She wasn't great, but she wasn't awful. Miss Corcoran had obviously eventually had some success in teaching her how to sing. When she finished, she bowed, and sat back down.

Next, Tina got up. She did a really good job. She was very emotional in her presentation, but not over the top at all. She wasn't dressed any differently than she normally did for school. She walked a little as she sang and made eye contact with pretty much everyone in the room. Her performance was very moving .

Third in line was Rachel. She got up in her best smile and black sleeveless dress with a full skirt on it and danced around the whole front of the room, while she belted the song out loud and clear. Her performance of the song was very good technically, but it lacked the emotional connection that Tina's song had.

Finally it was Kurt's turn. He didn't transpose the song from its original key and he could see the surprise on the faces of quite a few members of the group, including Mr. Schue when he sang out strong and not the least bit girly sounding. He had chosen an outfit that he thought was quite masculine, but within the range of things he had worn on occasion. He wore black trousers, looser through the calves than his normal cut, with a black shirt with gray pinstripes, and a gray vest with no tie. He did his best to portray the feeling in the song without being over the top and coming off sappy.

"Well, we have quite the choice to make." Mr. Schue handed out slips of paper to the people that hadn't auditioned. "So, please write the name of the person you're voting for on the slip and put it in the box."

A few minutes later, everyone had voted. Mr. Schue took the box into his office to tally the votes. He came back a couple of minutes later. "Okay, in the second round of voting, everyone can vote and you're choosing between Tina and Kurt." He passed out more slips of paper.

Rachel was livid. She tried to keep it under wraps, but Kurt could tell that she was about to lose it. He figured that she'd vote for Tina just to spite him.

They all got up and put their ballots into the box. Mr. Schue took the box back to his office to tally them. He came back out. "The soloist for Regionals will be Kurt."

Kurt was shocked. Stunned. He didn't move.

"Kurt?" Mr. Schue said to get his attention.

"Yes. Yes." He came back to his senses. "Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I have an idea for the piece, if I can share it."

"Sure."

"I'd like it to be an all-guys piece. We have the Troubletones doing an all-girls number and perhaps Tina, Rachel, and Quinn could join them – I mean if they want to. This way we'd have one group piece, a guys piece, and a girls piece."

"That's an interesting idea. The guys did do a great job at Sectionals. But I'm not sure how it would still be a solo. We can talk about your idea in more detail later. For now, let's move on to talking about 'I Can Fly'." He handed out the sheet music and went through the division of the featured parts, which he had divided up a little more fairly than Kurt had anticipated.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

David called the Warblers meeting to order. "We tallied the votes from yesterday. There will be no murmuring or complaining about the outcome. We are a group that needs to be united to perform well. Please accept the outcome as the gentlemen that we are aspiring to be, not as whiny children who didn't get their way. And the same goes to the group of people who voted for the victor. There will be no snide remarks or childish behavior reminiscent of the 'na na na na booing' that takes place on elementary school playgrounds. Am I understood?"

Most of them nodded.

"Good," Thad said. "This is an unusual situation and we appreciate you ability to respond in an respectful manner. Sebastian will retain his position as lead Warbler. Congratulations, Sebastian."

Trent spoke next. "One song that has been chosen for Regionals is 'Stand', which we're going to listen to now. We have worked on the arrangement, and we'll sing through what we have a few times before we dismiss for the day. We're still considering some of the other songs that were suggested." Trent connected his phone to the speakers and started "Stand".

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian booked it back to his room as soon as rehearsal ended. He texted Kurt asking if he could call. Instead of responding to the text, Kurt called him immediately.

"How did it go?"

"I'm still lead Warbler."

"Congratulations! That's great."

"And one of the songs I put in to be considered for Regionals got chosen. They haven't chosen the other songs yet."

"Well, then double congratulations!" Kurt laughed.

"What about you?"

"I won. I got the solo."

"That's amazing. Not because your not good enough, but amazing because you'd been ignored for so long."

"It is amazing. I really thought I would lose to Tina. She sang 'Skyscraper' and nailed it. She did such a great job. I have to go. Call me later. I have to get to the shop and I can't talk on the phone and drive."

"Okay."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

On Friday in Warbler's rehearsal, Sebastian stood and asked to speak after the meeting had been called to order.

"Sebastian has the floor," David said.

"The Warblers currently rehearse for 45 minutes, 5 days a week for a total of 225 minutes. I would like to propose that we change our rehearsal schedule to 60 minutes, 4 days a week with a 5-minute break in the middle to get a drink and stretch. That schedule would have us rehearse for a total of 220 minutes per week. The upside to this schedule is that those of us who travel out of town to visit our families on the weekend would be able to leave after last period on Fridays. Last period ends at 2:55. The sports teams don't start practice until 4:15, so anyone in the group that plays a sport would still have time to arrive without being late." He sat back down after speaking.

"That's an interesting proposal. Does anyone second his idea?"

Several hands went up.

"Well, it looks like there is some interest in this idea."

"Does anyone want to speak against the idea?"

No hands were raised.

"Alright," David said. "There is a motion to change our rehearsal schedule from Monday through Friday from 3:00-3:45 to Monday through Thursday from 3:00-4:00. All those in favor raise your hand." David counted. "All those opposed." No one put their hand up. "I'm assuming those of you who didn't vote don't really care one way or the other. There were 10 'yes' votes, which is more than half the membership of the group. The motion carries. Since we don't have the arrangements finished for our pieces, we will start the change this week. With the exception of those of you who are helping with the arrangements, everyone else is free to leave today."

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Sebastian hurried to his room, changed his clothes as fast as he could, dumped the books he needed into his suitcase with the clothes had already packed, and grabbed his satchel. He locked his room and headed for the parking lot. He was on his way to Lima to surprise Kurt and show up early.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt met with Mr. Schue during lunch and discussed his idea of the guys singing back up for his solo. They worked through when the guys would sing, when they would echo, and they would just hum in harmony. Mr. Schue worked on getting the parts arranged.

By the time everyone was in the choir room after school, Mr. Schue had the basic arrangement done.

"Today we need to discuss whether or not Rachel, Tina, and Quinn would be welcome to sing with the girls in the Troubletones number. Many of the girls from the Cheerios are continuing to participate for that piece. But the question is whether those members of the group are going to be open to the three girls that were not a member of the Troubletones participating."

Mercedes spoke first. "I think as long as the Rachel realizes that she will not sing lead on the song and she can keep up with the choreography, that the other girls will not be bothered by her singing with us. Tina and Quinn won't be an issue, in my opinion."

Santana spoke next. "Berry cannot attempt a coup of any sort. If she's willing to come in and be part of the chorus with the other girls, I agree with Mercedes. I think the girls will be okay with it."

"Alright, then I think you three need to decide on a personal level whether you want to participate with the Troubletones in their number. After class you can let me know your decision. They will be meeting separately to work on their number."

"When do they rehearse?" Rachel asked.

"More than likely on Monday mornings before school since Coach Sue is helping us now that Miss Corcoran has gone back to New York and that's the only morning she's willing to let us work on it. The Cheerios that need work on their tumbling practice on Monday mornings. She can have one of the other senior Cheerios berate them for what a lousy job they're doing."

"Hey!" Kurt said.

"What? It's not my fault you grew like 5 or 6 inches since you last cheered with us. Those extra inches mean you have to work harder to do flips than we do. You're getting better. She wants you to be able to flip like you could before. That's a tall order for someone who only practices tumbling one day a week."

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes.

"So, back to the topic at hand. Tina, Quinn, and Rachel need to have Monday mornings before school available if they wish to join the Troubletones piece. Let me know after class so I can talk to Coach Sue about it."

The three of them nodded.

"For today, I want the girls to head down to the dance studio and begin to brainstorm and start thinking of choreography idea for 'I Can Fly'. Use one of your phones to play the music while you're down there."

The girls got up, grabbed their stuff and left.

"Now guys, Kurt came to me with the plan that he had for the song he chose. I have the sheet music and we're going to sing through it and see how it goes." He passed the music out.

They worked on it for about 15 minutes. "So, what do you guys think?" Kurt asked.

"I like that you're not just hogging all of the spotlight. This feels like a group song with you singing the melody rather than a 'look at me' solo," Puck said. "It's cool. This song isn't really my kind of music, but it does fit the theme and it's a nice contrast to the other two songs."

Kurt nodded. "Anyone else have an opinion?"

No response.

"Alright then, let's move down by the piano and hammer out the parts so we make sure everyone is actually singing the right notes."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian pulled into the Hummel driveway about 30 minutes earlier than he had expected to. Kurt's Navigator wasn't in the driveway, but Finn's truck was. Burt's truck wasn't there either. So, just Finn was home. Sebastian got his suitcase out and headed in and made a stop in the laundry room and put his clothes in the washer. He took everything else upstairs and put it away. Afterwards, he slid the suitcase under the bed. He set a timer to move the clothes to the dryer and sat down at the desk to get as much of his written work done as he possibly could.

He worked diligently, switched the clothes when necessary, did more schoolwork, grabbed the clothes and folded and hung them up. He went right back to studying. He had only been home an hour and 15 minutes when Kurt and Sam came bounding up the stairs.

"You're here!"

"I am."

"So, there's a basketball game tonight. You can stay home if you want. I know you have more schoolwork than I do. I won't be offended."

"Let me think about it. I've been looking forward to going, but how much homework do you have to do?"

"Maybe two hours' worth. I'll be quiet and let you work now. I'll go help Carole make dinner."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian stayed home and worked on his schoolwork, but left in time to get to the game before halftime. He slid into the bench near Tina.

"I thought maybe you stayed at Dalton for the weekend."

"Nope. I was trying to get through as much of my schoolwork as possible. I don't want to spend my whole weekend holed up doing schoolwork."

"I can't blame you for that."

"Kurt said you did a fantastic job on 'Skyscraper'. He said he was surprised that he won. He figured that you would."

"That's sweet of him. I voted for him. He's got a gorgeous voice and he's graduating. Rachel always manages to grab the spotlight and Blaine took Tony from him. I thought he deserved it more. I'll have more chances next year."

"You're as sweet as he says you are. That was really kind of you."

"Are you ever going to tell him that you like him?"

"He's out of my league."

"How do you figure that?"

"He just is."

"Well, I think you're wrong, but it's your life. Not a single other person in this gymnasium is here because he's here. Just you. And that includes me, and you just said complimentary things about my kindness. He and I have been friends for ages. We're not as close as we used to be, but I would have never considered coming just to watch him and support him. You don't like basketball anymore than I do, but you come here every time you can and you support him. It's not what you can give him monetarily or social status-wise. You already support him more by coming here than any of the rest of his friends. You came to our sectionals in regular clothes as his friend. You're in his league, for sure."

"Thanks for the pep talk."

"You're welcome. He deserves someone who actually cares about him."

"Well, we can agree on that."

After the game, the three guys met outside the locker room and headed out to the parking lot.

"Can you take Carole's car, Sam? Meet us at the shop. Dad wants us to come there before we go home. It's dark out and I'm not certain that Sebastian knows the way there from here."

"Sure. See ya in a few minutes."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Why does your dad want us to go to the shop?"

"I actually have no idea whatsoever."

They listened to the radio as they drove to the shop. Once they were there, they parked and walked up to the customer entrance. Sam was standing there already. Kurt texted his dad telling him that they were there, so they wouldn't startle him by just walking in. Burt came to the door and let them in.

"Alright boys. Follow me." Burt led them toward the work bay. The blue Honda Accord that Kurt had been working on all week was down off of the lift and sitting in the open area of the shop. "This is why I had you all come here. This little beauty is Sam and Sebastian's new car."

"What?" they both said.

"Sebastian can drive it to Dalton and use it there whenever he needs to during the week and when he comes back on Fridays, it becomes yours, Sam. That way, you can go visit your family on the weekends whenever you want. Kurt did a fantastic job of fixing what was wrong with it all week long. I just gave it a final inspection myself. Technically the car belongs to me, but you're both insured to drive it. You'll have to work together to figure out the issue of keeping it gassed up. I'd suggest that Sebastian fill it up when he gets to the station not far from the house and that Sam do the same thing when he comes back from Kentucky. But you two can work out whatever method you want."

"Wow," Sam said. "I don't know what to say, other than thank you."

"Me either. Thank you."

"Well, you're both welcome. So, I guess since it's the weekend, it's technically Sam's car right now, but I have keys for all three of you." He handed a key to each one of them, which they slipped on to their key rings. "I'll open the bay door and you can drive it out and head home, Sam. If you want, you can leave for Kentucky in the morning. It's a little late now to head out considering that you're probably pretty tired from playing basketball."

"I'll think about going tomorrow. Thank you again." Sam headed for the car while Burt walked over to the door control and raised the bay door. He closed it again after Sam pulled out.

"You two can head home too."

Kurt and Sebastian went out the door and Burt locked it behind them. He left through the employee entrance and reset the alarms.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian pulled up to the driveway and there was only room for one of them to park. A few seconds later, Kurt saw Finn come out of the house and the garage door go up. He pulled his truck into the garage and closed the door from the inside. Next he saw his dad come out and pull his truck up one car length. Sebastian pulled in behind Burt's truck.

Kurt was out of the Navigator by then. "We're going to have to play 'move the vehicles' a lot with this many cars."

"It'll be fine." Burt said. "I'll make a copy of Finn's truck key for the three of you. We'll all just carry the keys to all of the vehicles. It will be fine."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole had a snack ready for everyone. Kurt and Sebastian headed up to their room afterwards.

"Mind if I shower first?" Kurt asked.

"Nope. Go right ahead."

Sebastian did as many calculus problems as he could while Kurt was in the shower. When he came out, Sebastian took his shower. When he came out, Kurt was waiting for him.

"I'm glad you're here." He hugged him.

"Me too."

"Ready to sleep?"

"Maybe. Ready to rest at least."

Sebastian tossed his clothes into the laundry and turned the lights off and got in bed.

"Much better."

Sebastian laughed.

"What's better?"

"My bed's not half empty now."

"I see. Well, I think this is the best bed ever because I always sleep so well when I sleep in it."

"Music?"

"Sure. Are we working tomorrow morning?"

"Let me text my dad and ask. He's not home that often anymore, so I don't want to make any assumptions. I mean the car was a total surprise. I worked on it all week and I had no idea it was for you and Sam."

Kurt texted Burt. Not even a minute later, he got a response. "The answer is we can go in after breakfast, but our schoolwork needs to be the priority. And breakfast will be at 8:00."

"Got it. I still have schoolwork to do and you said you had two hours worth. I guess we can find out more in the morning."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They were dressed for the day and sitting at the table at 8:00 as Burt had requested. Finn and Sam were there too, although Finn was still in his pajamas. He usually didn't get out of bed until close to noon on Saturdays.

"I've called a family breakfast for this morning because it's obviously not going to work for us to have Friday family dinners anymore since there are basketball games pretty much every Friday for the foreseeable future. Also, sometimes my flights won't get me here by dinnertime. So, for right now, on the weekends I'm home, we're going to attempt to have a Saturday morning family breakfast. If Puck's here, he can just stay asleep and eat when he gets up, Finn."

"Got it."

"So, this week's news got shared last night. I got a car for Sam and Sebastian to share. This way Sebastian has a way back and forth to Dalton and Sam has a way to go see his family on the weekends. In shop news, Sebastian is my new bookkeeper. He will go on the payroll this week. I just need your bank account information to set up your direct deposit."

"I'll get that for you," Sebastian said. "And thank you."

"No need to be overly grateful. It was a position I was going to have to hire for. I gave you a chance to show whether you could do it or not and you did a fine job. So, you've saved me the trouble of trying to hold interviews on the weekend to fill the position."

Sebastian nodded.

"House rules still stand when I'm not here. You need to ask Carole before having any guests overnight. She'll need to plan for additional food or authorize ordering pizzas or Chinese. You four will still need to help with either the cooking or the clean up. Leaving Carole to clean up after four 18 year olds is unacceptable. Do your laundry, keep up with it. Do your schoolwork. If anyone needs help, ask Carole. If no one in the house can answer the schoolwork problems, she can find a tutor for whoever needs one. No excuses for doing poorly in school just because it's your last semester."

Carole spoke next. "College applications are due soon. Please ask for help if you need it, but not the day before the application is due. There are some things that cannot be rushed. Burt and I will continue to attend Sam's games as we can. I work some evenings and obviously Burt is out of town some of the time. But we'll come when we can. The same thing will hold true if you get on the lacrosse team, Sebastian. It may be easier for us to attend your away games if they're closer to Lima, but we will come when we can. If there are any other school related events, the sooner you mark them on the kitchen calendar, the more likely we'll be able to attend."

Burt said, "I think that's it. Do any of you have any questions or anything to add?"

"Kurt got the solo for Regionals," Finn said.

"Oh, honey. That's great!"

"Thank you."

"Sebastian was challenged for lead Warbler and came out victorious," Kurt said.

"Congratulations, dude," Finn said.

"Thanks."

"I'm glad for you," Carole said with a big smile on her face.

Sebastian just nodded and smiled.

"The basketball team is 9 and 3, which is better than last season and the good news is that I don't get yelled at the way the Cheerios do. I feel bad for them every time I hear Coach Sue yell at them. Sorry Kurt. I know you don't like to talk about it, but she's awful to you and the others."

"There are definitely days when I wish I had not joined. The cheering part itself is fun, but the practices are not. Hopefully, being on the squad helps me get into college."

"Coach Beiste is tough," Finn said. "But she's fair. She only gets mad when people don't listen or don't pay attention to what they're doing. Coach Sue just says mean things to the Cheerios all the time."

"I don't agree with her methodologies, but Kurt joined of his own free will knowing exactly what he was getting into. Now, having said that. If she starts nagging you about your weight or the whole situation gets to be too much, you can leave the squad. I will back you up, Son. People can only put up with so much crap and you already have more than your fair share. If and when you've decided that enough is enough, Carole and I will see to it that you are off the squad."

"Thank you, Dad."

"You betcha, kiddo."

"I hate to eat and run," Sam said. "But is it okay if I head out. I'm going to go to Kentucky and come back tomorrow evening. We have three basketball games next weekend, so I won't be able to go then. Plus, there's no snow predicted for this weekend."

"Sure, Sam. Have fun," Carole said.

Sam got up and put his stuff in the dishwasher, grabbed his coat and backpack and headed out.

"Well, everyone else is free to go back to bed or whatever. I figured Kurt and Sebastian are heading to the shop until noon and then coming back home to work on their schoolwork."

"That's fine, Dad. We'll see you later."

Kurt grabbed Sebastian's place setting and his own and put them in the dishwasher. Sebastian had his own coat on and was holding Kurt's and handed it to him. They headed to the shop.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

It wasn't long before Burt showed up at the shop to check in on how everything was going when the employees were there. He just stood back and watched for a while and was pleased to see that they were all working. No one was slacking off and no one seemed to be disgruntled that Kurt had been promoted. Everyone seemed to like Sebastian. Once Cassius noticed him standing in the corner, he approached and told Burt about the week.

Kurt and Sebastian worked for three hours and headed back to the house to finish their schoolwork. When they arrived, Carole was in the kitchen. She was cleaning up from prepping the pot of soup she had started on the stove.

"Hello, boys. Lunch will be in about a half hour. The soup needs time to simmer."

"Thanks!" Sebastian said.

"And just a forewarning. The Glee guys will all be here around 6:00 and they're staying the night – down in the family room."

"Thanks for letting us know," Kurt said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why are the Glee guys coming here and you're being informed as if you're an outsider?"

"Oh, I don't get invited. Finn always had the Glee guys over to his house before Carole and my dad got married. He's just kept it up since the wedding."

"You're missing the point of my question. Why are you not invited?"

"I didn't bother to ask why. I appreciated the lack of dumpster tosses too much to care about not being invited to guys' night. If they don't want me there, why would I want to be there? Calling them out on their discrimination wouldn't make them want me there. So, I just let it be."

Sebastian just shook his head. He changed the subject. "Can I come with you tomorrow morning to Cincinnati?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking I could work on my homework more while you're having your lessons and then we could go back to that grocery store. We went almost three weeks ago, but this time I have some money. I got paid for the tutoring I did this past week."

"That sounds like fun. I'm glad you're able to work now. I know that's a load off your shoulders."

"It really is."

"So, another hour homework after lunch and I'll be done. Then we'll do something fun up here, just the two of us. We can grab some of the board games before any of them get here. And we can watch movies on my laptop or read."

"Sounds good to me."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Carole was sweet to sneak us up pizza from the guys."

"She was, but it also saves her from having to make dinner because she and Dad are going out for a date."

"That's sweet."

"He tries. It will be harder now that he's going to be gone so much. I know once they get things figured out that Carole will start going with him to DC some of the time. But she has to get her work schedule shifted first. But most of that lecture this morning was for Finn. When Carole goes with Dad, he needs to be sure that she won't be coming back to a mess to clean up because she will have used her days off to go with him and she'll have like a 10 days of work in a row with no days off."

"Finn needs to get his act together."

"I know, but she freely admits that's partially her fault for indulging him. She felt bad because he didn't have a dad around. She worked and on her days off she spent all day while he was at school doing all of the chores, and then she did whatever he wanted to do when he was home. She'd buy him what he wanted and stuff. She gave him an allowance, and then even more money if he asked. She was just doing her best, but she realizes that she let it go on too long. He's also just naturally disorganized and laid back. So, it was a bad combo."

"Whereas you are super organized and not laid back."

"He and I are mostly opposites. He's always been one of the most popular kids in school. And his boyish charm has always worked to get him granted leeway other people wouldn't get. It is how it is. Fighting against it makes no difference. You heard me say how Santana was threatened with a 2-week suspension for a simple slap when she smacked him. And Dave got a mere 3-day suspension for threatening to kill me after weeks of locker shoves causing me massive bruises. Fair isn't part of my world. It never has been. It hasn't been for you either. But we survived. We know we're tough and we can make it."

"You're right."

"Let's start with a card game."

"You realize that I don't know how to play most of these games, right?"

"I know. I'll teach you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They were up and gone before anyone else was even awake Sunday morning. They followed through on the plans they had made. They had a lot of fun and they came back with some interesting snacks. They got back around 5:00. Sebastian packed most of what he had bought in his suitcase with his clean clothes and books. They made an early dinner together and Sebastian headed back to Dalton around 7:00. They were both sad the weekend was over.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They texted and talked on the phone every evening and texted during the daytime when they could get away with it. They both worked to get as much of their homework done before the weekend as possible. Both schools had Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, giving them a three-day weekend to look forward to.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was really excited that Sebastian was on his way home. He was glad that Sebastian had stopped holding Warbler rehearsals on Fridays so he got to the shop an hour earlier.

When he got there, he went straight to the lounge and grabbed his coveralls and put them on. He came out of the changing area to find Kurt waiting for him. He handed him a container with some cookies in it. Sebastian took the container, opened it, and stuffed a cookie in his mouth. He put the lid back on and used his hand to keep from losing the other half of the cookie.

After he swallowed he said, "Delicious as always. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Come on. I'm going to show you more car-fixing magic today for an hour and then you can get working on the books."

"You cannot seriously be this excited about whatever we are going to do to a car."

"Nope, but I'm glad you're here."

Sebastian smiled. He followed Kurt and paid attention. He went to the office when the hour was up and he spent the next hour doing the receipts for the week.

When it was time to close up, they both left their coveralls in the laundry bin and headed out. When they pulled up in the driveway, Kurt opened the back door and got Sebastian's suitcase out. He pulled it up to the door, which Sebastian unlocked.

When they got inside, they were greeted by Carole. "There's food on the island in the kitchen. Eat something before you have to go to the game, Kurt. Sebastian, help yourself."

Kurt wheeled Sebastian's suitcase into the laundry room. And then went into the bathroom to wash his hands. He sat down at the island and put food on the plate Carole had put out for him.

"Before I forget, there was an envelope for each of you in the mail. They're on your bookshelves upstairs."

Kurt left the room and went to the bedroom. He sat down and grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk. He cut the end off the envelope very neatly and took a deep breath and let it out. He pulled the contents out of the envelope. He closed his eyes again and opened them. He unfolded the sheets of paper and started to read. He took off for the laundry room.

"I got in! I got in!"

"You did it!" Sebastian exclaimed.

"I did."

"What's going on?" Carole asked.

"Is Finn home?"

"No."

"Okay. I was working on my college application so diligently in the fall because I applied for early admission to the musical theater program in Cincinnati."

"Honey, I thought you wanted to go to New York to study."

"I did. But I did a lot of research. The school in Cincinnati is actually ranked higher than most of those New York schools I was looking at and the tuition is about 1/5 the cost. If I had to, I could work full time all summer and part time during the school year and cover all of my costs."

"I see. But is that what you really want?"

"I want to study and learn. I don't want to end up owing over $250K in school loans. I'm not even sure I can borrow that much. I do know that it would set me back like $30K a year for 10 years to pay it back. I just don't see how whatever I would learn could be worth that."

"Well, if it's what you want, then I'm happy for you. But from your question earlier, I take it that you don't want Finn to know."

"I don't. He is incapable of keeping secrets. He's not a gossip, but he literally seems to be incapable of remembering who knows what and who he can tell things to. I'm not interested in Rachel having a cow. She's mad enough that Blaine went back to Dalton. She loved singing with him."

"Finn is struggling with a lot of things right now. I'm not going to tell him about your college choice. I wish I had an answer about him knowing when to not say things, but you're right - he's just like that."

"I will tell Dad when he comes back tonight. I'll tell Sam too. He knows that I had applied. I'm not sharing it with anyone else until the other seniors start to get their acceptance letters."

"Alright, honey. It's your life and your choice who to share the information with."

Kurt sat back down at the island to eat. He saw Sebastian head up the stairs with his suitcase and satchel. He kept expecting him to come back downstairs and eat with him, but he didn't. When he finished, he put his plate in the dishwasher and headed upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Bas?" Kurt called his name when he didn't see him in the room anywhere.

"I'm in the closet hanging my shirts up."

"Oh, okay. You didn't come back down to eat. I just came to check on you."

Sebastian came out of the closet. He zipped the suitcase and put it under the bed. He sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to him.

Kurt sat down next to him. "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, not at all. Actually everything is really good and it feels surreal. But I have to believe that it is real because even in my wildest imagination, I wouldn't have come up with this scenario."

"You're not making a lot of sense."

He got up and grabbed the envelope off the desk and took the papers out. He brought them over and handed them to Kurt. Kurt took them and unfolded them and started to read.

"What? When did you even apply?"

"I looked into the school after we met at the diner that day. You were so excited about it and talked about how affordable it was. I thought maybe I'd just apply and see what happened."

"You've been offered a $5000 scholarship, Bas. That's like nearly half the tuition for the year."

"I know. We could get a small apartment and share the expenses. It would cost you half as much that way. And I could afford to pay half, if I keep working. I was going to have to work in France anyway."

"I thought you wanted to go back to Paris."

"What I wanted was to NOT be with my father. I don't want to be with my mother either, but I know Paris. I felt like I could make it there because I had made I there for the last 7 years."

"And now?"

"And now, I don't hate it here anymore."

"I see."

"I actually did the calculations. If we got a place together, it would be less expensive for me to go to school here."

"How much were you going to have to pay to get your room back?"

"About $800 a month."

"Oh, wow. I had no idea."

"I told you housing in Paris is very expensive. My mother charging $800 a month is easy for her to get. And I would still have to pay for my own food and expenses."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Think about it a little more."

"Seems reasonable." Kurt reached over and hugged him. "Congratulations! You're amazing." He let go of him and stood up. "I'm going to shower before I get my uniform on. I have to be at the school in a half hour."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was surprised to see his dad in the stands sitting with Carole, Finn, and Sebastian. After the game, he and Sam met up with the other four.

"Dad!" Kurt wrapped his arms around Burt. "I didn't know you were coming."

"That's because I wasn't sure if I could make it and I wanted it to be a surprise if I did."

"Well, it worked."

"So, boys, I've ordered pizzas to be delivered to the house in 20 minutes so let's head out."

When they got out to the parking lot, Sebastian followed Carole to her car and Burt followed him to the Navigator. Kurt gave Burt a confused look.

"I just wanted to talk to you on the way home."

"Climb in."

"Carole said you had something to tell me."

"Yes! I got in to the university. I got my acceptance letter today."

"That's great! I'm really proud of you. So, you're certain that this is what you want to do? I know it's been New York for as long as I can remember."

"I do want to go to New York sometime. But this school is ranked really high and I'd rather not be in debt. I mean if I don't make it as a performer, I don't want to have so many bills that I can't even consider studying something different. Or have to work two jobs just to pay my school loans and my bills."

"Well, whatever you want. As long as you're happy with your choice, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I have something else to tell you."

"That sounds more serious."

"I really like Sebastian."

"I knew that was coming. I saw it back around Thanksgiving. I asked you."

"I know. I hadn't really quite gotten over the hurt yet. But I am now and I have been since back before Christmas."

"I appreciate you telling me this. Does this mean you're going to ask him out?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I will. I do have to ask him one last thing before I decide. You wanted me to be honest with you, so there's the honesty. I like him a lot, to the point of loving him. I won't pressure him. Being with him is so different."

"I've seen it, kiddo. You're not tense around him. You don't put on a show for him. You're just yourself. It's actually really nice to see. You're like that with Sam too."

"So, you're not going to make him move out of my room and share with Sam or something?"

"No, Kurt. I told you. Carole talked some sense into me about the whole thing. I'm not sure the two of you could even get an apartment together in this town. Things aren't easy for you like they would be for a straight couple. If you decide to ask him out, I will not make him switch rooms or anything. But if you end up breaking up, keep in mind that he's still part of our family. You may end up having to share with Sam and he would get Sam's room."

"I understand. You said he can live here and that's permanent regardless of whether he and I are dating or not."

"Just let me know what you decide."

"I will."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After finishing the pizzas, Sam, Finn, Burt, and Carole went down to watch a movie. Kurt opted to go upstairs and take another shower since he hadn't gotten to take one after the game since they ate as soon as they came home. Plus, he was just tired and wanted some peace and quiet.

He got to his room and surprisingly Sebastian had beaten him to the shower. He came out a few minutes later.

"I thought I'd grab a quick shower, then you can take however long you'd like since I'm sure you're going to need to keep from getting stiff muscles with games to cheer for three days in a row."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kurt went in the bathroom and took a nice hot, but not too hot shower. He came back out and Sebastian was sitting on his side of the bed, leaned back against the headboard reading a book.

"Business or pleasure?" Kurt asked teasingly.

"Pleasure."

Kurt smiled.

"Sit in the desk chair and I'll rub your shoulders or try to. I've never given anyone a massage, but I'll give it my best shot." Sebastian put the book on his side shelf and walked over to Kurt's desk.

Kurt sat down. Sebastian started rubbing his shoulders. Just his touch sent electrical tingles through Kurt's body. He let Sebastian do whatever because it didn't even matter because just being touched by him felt so good.

"Is this okay?"

"It's great."

He rubbed his shoulders for a few more minutes. "I don't want to irritate your skin by rubbing anymore. That will just make you sore tomorrow."

"Thank you." He got up, turned the lights off in the bathroom and on the desk. He left the small salt lamp on the shelf by his bed on.

"Are you ready to go to sleep?"

"I'm ready to get in bed."

They got in the bed. Kurt tried to steel himself up to tell Sebastian how he felt. He lay flat on his back for a few minutes and gathered his courage. He rolled onto his side facing Sebastian, who was lying on his back.

"Bas?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you make a decision about the offer from the university?"

"I did. I'm going to accept."

"Really?" He tried to keep his excitement down, but didn't really manage to.

"Yes."

Kurt's voice became much more serious. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Is there something wrong?"

Kurt laughed. "Nothing is wrong. Remember when you said it was hard to believe that things were so right?"

"Yes."

"Well, they're going right for me too. But I do want to tell you something."

"Okay."

"Can you turn over?"

He rolled over to face Kurt. Kurt reached out and gently stroked the side of Sebastian's face. "Bas, I love you."

Sebastian froze.

"Bas?"

He blinked.

He could feel tears streaming down Sebastian's cheek. He wiped away the ones he could reach with his thumb.

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes, Bas. I love you. I'd really like you to be my boyfriend."

"Why tell me now?"

"Because all along, I thought you were going back to Paris. I've liked you for a while, a long while. And I've known I was in love with you since before Christmas. But I didn't want to pressure you. You were going through so much already. I'll be sad if you don't feel the same way, but it's okay if you don't. I won't quit being your friend."

"No one has ever loved me."

"Well, I do. And I'd like you to be my boyfriend. Would it be okay if I held you?"

Sebastian propped up on his elbow. "How?"

"I'll just lie on my back and you can put your head here," Kurt rolled onto his back so that Sebastian could lay his head on his chest.

"Okay."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. It's okay if you'd rather not."

"I do want to."

Kurt extended his arm above his head so that Sebastian could put his head on his chest. Once Sebastian had gotten closer, Kurt put his arm around Sebastian.

"I don't know where to put my arm."

"Just put it here." Kurt arranged Sebastian's arm so it was across his chest. He took Sebastian's hand and intertwined their fingers. They just lay there in silence for a while. Kurt felt Sebastian relax. Not long afterward, he was sound asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt opened his eyes to hear Sebastian humming quietly serenading him awake. He saw that he was holding a tray, so he slid up in the bed. He checked his phone and saw that it was only 5:45.

"Good morning. I made you the crepes I've been wanting to make for you."

Sebastian carried the tray over to the bed and put it in the middle of the bed. And sat down across from Kurt.

"They look fantastic." He took a bite. "Oh, God. That's good. We're sharing right?" Kurt put a bite on the fork and offered it to Sebastian.

He leaned forward and took the offered bite.

Kurt continued to eat and feed Sebastian until the food was gone. "That was really good. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sebastian took the tray and put it on the dresser. He shut and locked the bedroom door quietly. He walked back across the room and got back in bed with Kurt. "Last night…"

"Last night?"

"Was I dreaming?"

Kurt scooted closer so they were sitting side by side. He offered his hand to Sebastian, who took it.

"If you're asking me if I told you that I love you, you weren't dreaming."

"I woke up really early this morning and I was sleeping on your chest and your arm was around me. I thought maybe I had somehow imagined the whole thing and I had snuggled you without your permission."

"It was my idea." Kurt slid back down in the bed. "You can snuggle back up if you want. We don't have anywhere to be this early in the morning."

Sebastian slid down in the bed and hesitantly moved toward Kurt.

"It's okay if you don't want to."

"That's not it at all. I want to. I really do. It's just…"

"It's new and scary."

"A little."

"It's new for me too."

"I do want to be your boyfriend, like I said last night."

"Yes?"

Sebastian nodded.

Kurt kissed the top of his head. "I'm glad. If you're concerned about my dad, don't be. He already knows. I told him that I was going to ask you."

"So, he's okay with it?"

"Yes."

"And I can still live here with you?"

Kurt tipped Sebastian's chin up and moved so he could look him in the eyes. "This is your home. If you don't want to be my boyfriend now or at some time in the future, this will still be your home. If you no longer want to share a room with me, Sam can move in here with me, and you can have his room. We won't ever make you leave. I mean some day, you may want to live somewhere else, like when you graduate from college and get a job somewhere, but this will still be the place to come home for holidays."

"This is all so strange."

"I know. But it's real, Bas. I'll ask you one more time, just so you can answer completely freely knowing that this is your home no matter what you say. Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Yes. 100% yes. I've liked you for a long, long time. Back before Thanksgiving."

Kurt smiled. He interlaced his fingers with Sebastian's and pulled his hand to his mouth and kissed Sebastian's knuckles.

"Mmm. And you're sure this is okay with your dad?"

"I'm positive. He and I have had more than one talk about my potential future dating. He came to his senses and realized that gay teens are not safe expressing their love for each other in this town. He somewhat bemoaned my no longer being a child, but he supports me and wants me to be safe. He'd rather me bring my boyfriend home and be safe than to get hurt somewhere because of homophobic people."

"Alright."

They two of them lay in that position for close to a half hour.

Kurt held Sebastian close. "Would it be okay if I kissed you? You can say no, if you're not ready. I'll wait."

"Can we sit up?"

"Sure."

They sat back up. Kurt sat right next to Sebastian and offered his hand again. Sebastian took it.

"I know I play at being flirty and teasing, but I've never, well, you know."

"I know, Bas. Neither have I."

"But you've kissed people."

"I've been kissed by people, yes. But this is different. I won't pressure you. We can wait. I really do love you." He pulled Sebastian's hand up to his mouth and kissed his knuckles.

"What if I'm terrible at it?"

"At kissing?"

He nodded.

"Well, they say practice make perfect, right? Bas, it's okay. You don't have to be perfect at it. We'll learn what we like and what the other person likes over time."

Sebastian rotated a bit and Kurt followed his lead. He leaned toward Kurt and Kurt matched his movement. He wanted Sebastian to feel like this was his choice. Sebastian closed the distance and lightly pressed his lips to Kurt's. He pulled back a little and smiled. "Okay?"

"Definitely." Kurt smiled back at him.

Sebastian leaned forward again and this time Kurt met him and they kissed. He pulled back again and had a huge smile on his face. "No wonder people like kissing so much."

"Well, it's much more enjoyable if you actually like the person you're kissing. Kissing you is amazing."

"Can I kiss you again?" Sebastian asked.

"You can kiss me as much as you want, whenever you want."

Sebastian leaned forward and Kurt met him. Their lips met less tentatively and Kurt pushed in a little more. Sebastian's hesitancy faded away. He reached out for Kurt and put his hand on Kurt's shoulder and let it slide down Kurt's arm. Kurt reached up and put his hand on the side of Sebastian's face and gently stroked down his cheek with his thumb.

"That could be a offer you might regret," Sebastian teased. "I really like kissing you."

"Mmm. Well, the feeling's mutual. It'd easier if we face each other, though. Can I sit in your lap? Or we could lay down."

"I don't know. Um. You can sit in my lap if you want."

"Only if you to want me."

"Oh, I do. I'm just nervous."

"Me too. I've never sat in anyone's lap. It's new for both of us."

Kurt got up and moved. Sebastian propped the pillows against the headboard and sat against them. Kurt straddled his lap, kneeling.

"Okay?"

"Yes. Scoot forward some though or it will still be hard to kiss you."

Kurt scooted closer. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. Sebastian responded by wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist.

"Still okay?"

"Definitely. And what you said is true for me as well. You can kiss me. I want you to. You don't have to ask each time."

Kurt leaned forward slightly and kissed him again. This was so completely different from his other kissing experiences. He pulled back gently, leaned his head to the side, nuzzled into Sebastian's neck, and just sat like that, holding him. "Holding you and being held by you is amazing." He kissed Sebastian gently on the neck.

Sebastian shivered.

"Still okay?"

"Yes. That just feels really good."

Kurt kissed up his neck toward his ear. Sebastian let his head tip to the side giving Kurt more access to his neck. Kurt smiled and kissed his neck again. He slipped his hand back to the side of Sebastian's face and ran his thumbs down his cheeks and one thumb across his lips. Sebastian kissed his thumb as it slid across. Kurt leaned in and resumed the kissing. Sebastian was as into it as Kurt was by this point. His hesitancy about it being real had subsided at least to the point of allowing himself to fully enjoy the experience. Kurt scooted closer, even though there wasn't much closer to scoot.

Kurt gently slipped his hands back and ran his fingers through Sebastian's hair. They kissed for at least ten minutes, just gentle back and forth kissing they both enjoyed. Kurt got up the nerve to try something. He just barely pushed his tongue between his lips and gently licked Sebastian's lower lip, which caused Sebastian to moan. They continued kissing and occasionally Kurt would just barely lick Sebastian's lip again and every time, Sebastian moaned. Kurt quickly realized that Sebastian moaning was a huge turn on.

It didn't take a whole lot longer for Sebastian to get up the nerve to try what Kurt was doing. And another ten minutes in, they were tentatively exploring each other's mouths. Kurt pulled back a little and gently kissed Sebastian, and then rested his head on his shoulder again.

"No wonder the couples at school are always trying to find places to sneak off and kiss," Kurt said, continuing the kissing by kissing the side of Sebastian's neck again.

Sebastian hands slipped down Kurt's back from where they had been when Kurt leaned in more letting Sebastian pull him closer. Sebastian's hand accidentally grazed against Kurt's skin where his t-shirt had ridden up a bit. This time it was Kurt who moaned. Sebastian moved his hand quickly.

"It's fine. Really. I'll take my shirt off if you want me to," Kurt whispered in his ear.

That flustered Sebastian because he didn't know whether to say yes or no.

"You're not pressuring me. I offered." He whispered between continuing to place gentle kisses on Sebastian's neck.

"Are you sure?"

Kurt stopped the neck kisses and pulled back a bit so he could look Sebastian in the eyes. "I want to ask you something or a few things."

"Okay."

"Do you find me attractive?"

"Yes."

"Have you enjoyed kissing me?"

"Yes." He pressed up and kissed Kurt and smiled.

"Do you want to take my shirt off?"

"Yeah," he said hesitantly.

"Are you so hesitant because you're not sure of your own answer? Or are you hesitant because you think I'm only doing it because you want me to and I'm not sure if I want to?"

"Oh, I want you to. I just don't want you to feel like I'm asking you and you have to just because I said yes."

"Okay. Our first relationship communication issue – if one of us offers, that means the person offering is 100% okay with the offer. So, just a silly example. If I offer to do your laundry, then I am 100% willing to do it for you. Not so you'll do mine for me later and not so you'll owe me something. An offer is a freely given action."

"So, you offered to take your shirt off."

"Exactly. So, you can either accept the offer, delay accepting the offer, or reject the offer. All of which are 100% valid choices and I will not be angry or upset with your choice. I will not manipulate you. Look up, please." Sebastian looked into his eyes. "I know that you don't know how to be loved. I know that no one has ever freely given you love. I'm not going to be one of those people who manipulates you. I'm not perfect. I know that. I'm sure I will do things that frustrate you, but I won't intentionally hurt you or manipulate you." He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian. "Real love doesn't do that. I know that you don't trust easily, but I will do my best to be worthy of your trust." He kissed him again. "So, don't offer what you aren't ready to give freely. And if I offer you something, know that it is absolutely freely given with nothing expected in return. Back to the shirt – I offered to take mine off. If you accept the offer, I will take it off. But I won't expect you to do the same unless you want to. I'm not making an indirect request implying that since I'm willing to take mine off that you need to take yours off too. If I want something from you, I will ask you. And you are free to say 'yes', 'not yet', or 'no'. And I will accept your answer and I won't leave you or abandon you."

Sebastian was crying by that point.

"Oh, Bas." He wiped the tears away and kissed him again. "I know this is a lot for you to take in. It's okay to be overwhelmed. Do you want some time to think?"

"No. Stay."

"Always."

Kurt wiped the remaining tears from his face and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck again and leaned against him and resumed their gentle kissing. Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt and held him close. This time it was Sebastian who paused their kissing. He moved and whispered in Kurt's ear.

"Yes."

Kurt unwrapped his arms, sat back so he was sitting on Sebastian's lap again and pulled his t-shirt off over his head and put it next to him on the bed.

"God, you're gorgeous."

"I'm glad you think so," Kurt said.

Sebastian's eyes wandered. "You hide those beautiful arms in all those clothes you wear and the baggy t-shirts you sleep in fall to your elbows. Even your cheer outfit covers them."

Kurt blushed.

"No one's ever told you how attractive you are."

Kurt shook his head.

"Well, you are gorgeous. Inside and out."

"You can touch me. I didn't offer to take me shirt off so you could only stare at me."

"Well, the view is certainly lovely."

Kurt refrained from rolling his eyes, doing his best to accept the fact that Sebastian did find him attractive.

"I'm going to have to stretch out for a minute. My feet are falling asleep," Kurt said sliding off Sebastian's lap. He lay down on his side and flexed his feet to get some feeling back.

Sebastian offered him his pillow back. He stuck it under his head. Sebastian put his pillow back down to lie on it. He faced Kurt. He scooted closer and kissed him. He felt like asking again, but he held back his doubt and reached out and put his hand on Kurt's upper arm. He made a decision and sat up just long enough to pull his shirt off. He lay right back down and kissed Kurt again.

"You have freckles."

"I do."

"I like them."

Sebastian laughed. "I'm glad. I think they're pretty permanently attached."

"Can I?"

"Sure."

Kurt reached out and ran his fingers over a few of them. He moved his hand back to the side of Sebastian's face and brushed his lips against Sebastian's, and he responded by scooting forward and kissing Kurt passionately.

"You're a really good kisser," he said between kisses.

"Thank you?"

Sebastian pulled back a bit and asked "Why the question at the end?"

"Oh, well you're the only person I've ever kissed like this."

Sebastian looked confused.

"Turn over and be the little spoon."

"The what?"

"Just turn and lie on your other side."

Sebastian flipped over. Kurt scooted up behind him. "I'm going to answer your questions. I want to get whatever questions you have about my past answered so we can leave them in the past."

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed surprised that I said that you're the only person that I've kissed like this."

"Well, yeah because you said you had dated a girl for a week and you dated Blaine for 6 or 7 months."

"I've been kissed by 3 people besides you. The first one was Brittany. I was completely out of my comfort zone and she broke the ice by kissing me. We kissed for maybe 5-10 minutes. Just kisses, no tongues. No passion. Just mostly her kissing me and me not being into it."

"Okay."

"The second person. I'm not sure what to say about that, other than it wasn't expected or wanted."

"Okay."

"And the third person was Blaine. He also kissed me unexpectedly sitting in one of the study rooms at Dalton. I sang 'Blackbird' in Warblers rehearsal. He said it 'moved him'. He put his hand on mine, leaned over the table, and just kissed me out of the blue. Looking back on it, it was very theatrical. He asked me to date him. I came back to McKinley not long after that. He kissed me a few times when he'd drop me off after a date - just a brief kiss. The week before he went to Scandals with you, we were alone in his house in his room. I asked him about whether he ever had any urges to do anything else. He told me that masturbation was his solution to that. He said he wanted me to be 'comfortable' and jumped up on the bed and gave me a peck on the lips and went right back to dancing around his room."

"What?"

"I was as confused as you are. And then not even a week later, it was 'let's do it' in the back of Carole's car."

"That's insane."

"Exactly my take on the whole thing as well. So, now is the time for you to ask questions if you want. I'm all for full disclosure, but the closure part is what I really want."

"So, you mentioned the couples at your school sneaking off to kiss and stuff."

"Yes."

"You never did any of that?"

"Blaine never touched me at school, other than a hug the day he enrolled. Sometimes he sat next to me in Glee or lunch, but not really anything more than that." Kurt snuggled up tight behind Sebastian. "Any other questions?"

"But you loved him?"

"I did. But not the way I love you. I think I loved the idea of him. The idea that someone could accept me and not belittle everything I enjoyed. I was at my lowest low when I met him. I was being physically assaulted on a daily basis at school. I had never met another gay teen boy. He had similar interests. Our conversations were always about something, about fashion or about musicals or about movies. He never actually let me get close to him. I never met his parents. He never really talked about them. In the end after it was all over, I spent a lot of time thinking. My dad made a remark about it when I told him how I felt about you. He said that I'm myself with you – that I'm not trying to keep up this image. I never really felt relaxed around Blaine. It was, I guess, sort of what you think of when someone you feel the need to impress walks in a room – like you're sitting and studying and doing the right thing, but one of the teachers walks in and you feel the need to sit up straighter, to look like you're taking notes on what you're reading or something."

"Like what you're already doing isn't enough."

"Exactly. He was always in dapper Blaine mode. And I felt like I had to match that level of togetherness for lack of a better word coming to mind right now. I would have never answered the door in my pajamas if I knew he was the one ringing the doorbell."

"And with me?"

"You know the real me. We've talked about everything - our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our nightmares. And you stayed. I'm not afraid to be myself with you. I trust you."

"I trust you too. It's really scary for me. I've not trusted anyone since… I'm not even sure how long it's been."

Kurt kissed the back of his neck. "I already told you that I will do everything I can to be worthy of that trust and not hurt you."

"I believe you."

"So, we can close that book? No more wondering about what happened with other people? I'm not banning you from asking me something later. I just want to answer anything else that would put your mind at ease."

Sebastian wiggled and Kurt let go. He turned over and faced Kurt and immediately began kissing him. He spoke between kisses, "How will I ever get anything else done when this is so amazing? You're amazing."

"Well, I suggest we do as much of our schoolwork during the week and then spend our weekends doing things together that we enjoy."

"Like kissing."

"Yeah."

"And snuggling?"

"That too. And also going places that aren't Lima. I know you like museums. There have to be some decent ones in Ohio. And once it warms up, we can do things like go to the lake and have picnics."

Sebastian kissed him. "Sounds fun. I think I'm going to change my schedule though. I'm going to leave on Monday mornings. I'd rather stay here as much as I possibly can. I can make it to school on time if I leave around 6:00. I'll just pack everything in the car the night before. I'll make some kind of breakfast I can eat while driving. And I'll just get up when you do, put my uniform on, drive there, park, and walk into class."

"You are so sweet." Kurt kissed him. "We have an extra day this weekend because there's no school Monday."

"Mmm. Another day to kiss you."

Kurt kissed him again.

"I do have some other questions. You said you told your dad, but besides not making me switch rooms, what happens?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can we openly be a couple or only in this room?"

"Oh. Openly as far as I know. I'll make sure that's the case. He seemed to be sincere about me wanting to feel comfortable in my own home. This is your home too. He and Carole cuddle up. Rachel hangs all over Finn. Sam hasn't dated anyone since he moved in with us, but I would assume that he would be openly affectionate with someone if he were dating."

"What constitutes 'openly affectionate'?"

"Hugging, handholding, snuggling, cuddling, kissing-no tongues – those all seem reasonable to me. They're all things that Finn does."

"Okay. Did you tell Finn?"

"No. I only told my dad because he had asked me to tell him if I started dating someone."

"You said Finn isn't really comfortable with you being gay."

"His lack of comfort isn't my problem or yours. We were making progress and then things have slipped backwards. Things were going well at Christmas, but since school started back up, he's been more aloof. I would guess that Rachel has more to do with that than his latent homophobia, but please don't pay attention to him if he says anything negative. Do tell me or Carole or my dad because they won't put up with it. Like Sam said, he banned him from the house once before. He won't throw Finn out, but I'm certain he will face some sort of consequences. Being grounded to his room is the most likely one."

"I don't want to cause trouble." He broke eye contact.

"Bas, look at me, please."

He did.

"Being ourselves is not causing trouble. Finn being even a small bit homophobic is problematic. He needs to come to terms with whatever he still has going on and get over it. He's part of this family and so are we. He wouldn't think it was okay for us to act like he was in the wrong to like girls. He needs to behave the same way he wants to be treated. And you aren't any trouble." He kissed him on the nose.

Sebastian laughed. "That's what you think." He wrapped his arm around Kurt and pulled him close. He kissed him on the shoulder. Then up his neck.

"Oh, God, you're right. That feels really good."

"Mmm hmm. It's fun to do too. Your neck is very kissable."

"No hickeys."

"Alright."

"Well, none that can be seen with my clothes on."

Sebastian laughed. "I can handle that."

"Knock, knock," Carole said as she knocked on the door.


	9. Chapter 9

"Just a minute," Kurt said. He grabbed his t-shirt and put it on and so did Sebastian. Kurt opened the door.

"Good morning, Carole."

"Morning, honey." She noticed the breakfast tray on the dresser. "Well, that answers my question. Let me take that." She stepped in and grabbed the tray. "I just wanted to see if you wanted anything for breakfast."

"Thanks for the offer," Sebastian said. "I had been wanting to make crèpes for Kurt, so I surprised him this morning."

"That was sweet. Are you guys sticking around? Going out?"

"We hadn't made any plans yet. We've both got some schoolwork left and work to do at the shop at some point this weekend. We'll let you know if we decide to go somewhere."

"Alright. Sam and Finn said something about a gaming marathon weekend at Puck's. So, that should free up the family room if a movie was on your list of potential activities."

"Well, it might be now. Usually we just steer clear of the family room. I've thought about seeing how Dad would feel about a TV for our room. Bas and I always end up watching movies on my laptop because we can never use the family room."

"I'll talk to him about it. He knows you wouldn't watch it instead of doing your homework, so I bet he'd be fine with it. Enjoy relaxing or study hard, whatever you decide." She took the tray and went back downstairs.

Kurt shut the door and relocked it.

"Does she know?" Sebastian asked. He wrapped his arms around Kurt.

Kurt responded by wrapping his arms around Sebastian. "I assume so, but I'll tell her myself at some point too." He tipped his head slightly and kissed Sebastian. "So we have three days together."

"Mmm." He kissed Kurt again. "Well, let's be responsible students and finish the last of our homework, and then find someplace cool to go tomorrow. A lot of stuff is closed on Monday probably."

"Good plan. Can you focus if we snuggle while we do our homework?"

"Let's forget my first idea and just go back to snuggling and kissing. We can do our homework Monday early. We'll get up like it's a regular school day and do it then."

"You just want to get back in the bed and cuddle."

"I do." He kissed Kurt and started walking backwards. "I absolutely want to kiss and cuddle."

"For a few minutes. We really do need to be responsible and get our work done."

By then Sebastian had reached the edge of the bed and he quickly rotated them and plopped Kurt onto the bed.

Kurt took his shirt off and climbed under the covers. Sebastian was only a few seconds behind. He lay down on his back right next to Kurt, but he didn't say anything.

"Remember the communication agreement. You can offer anything, so long as you're willing to accept 'yes', 'not yet', or 'no' as an answer and you can ask anything with the same answers as options. I don't want us to be the kind of couple that stews and frets because we're too afraid to ask or offer."

"So, if I ask for something and you say 'no', am I allowed to ask why?"

"Sure. That's part of communicating. More than likely I would just tell you why when I answered. I'll tell you up front that I will more than likely always say 'no' to being restrained in anyway. So, tying me up to the bed or handcuffing me is pretty much an automatic 'no'. I've been left in lockers for hours before and there is just no way I can voluntarily allow myself to be unable to move like that."

"People have been awful to you."

"That's true, but none of that is your fault, but some of it may push some things you might want to do into the 'no' category for me."

"Just to ease your mind, that kind of thing doesn't interest me. Even if you'd willingly let me do it, the fact that you couldn't participate would ruin the enjoyment for me. If and when we ever get to the point of being that intimate, I absolutely want us both to be into whatever we're doing."

"Well, then, it's likely you'll either get a 'yes' or a 'not yet' from me if you ask for something." He turned on his side. "So more kissing or more cuddling or did you have something else in mind?"

"Yes. Last night, I rubbed your shoulders."

"Which felt great."

"I just wondered if I could do it again? But with you lying on your stomach and I sit on you and rub your shoulders."

"Sure. But use some lotion. Here, let me grab it." Kurt hopped out of bed and grabbed a bottle and put it on the bed between the pillows and got back in the bed."

"Lotion?"

"Otherwise it will pinch. Personal experience from trying to massage the cramps out of my calf muscles before."

"Okay. Turn over." He stacked Kurt's pillow on his and turned them to get them out of the way.

"You don't have to use a lot. If it starts to pinch, I'll tell you."

Sebastian straddled Kurt and then put a little bit of the lotion on his hands. He started rubbing Kurt's back and the moaning started.

"Ow!"

Sebastian immediately stopped rubbing. "Did I pinch you?"

"No, you found a muscle I didn't realize that I had pulled. Rub that area again. Just go slow and work the knot out."

Sebastian did as he was asked. Touching Kurt set him on fire. After he had worked the knot out, he leaned over and started kissing Kurt's neck and shoulders.

"Can I do you?"

"I've not been flipping and cheering."

"I know. That doesn't change my question. Can I do you?"

"Yes."

"Trade me places."

Sebastian let Kurt up and lay down in the middle of the bed. Kurt straddled him.

"There's freckles on this side too." Kurt ran his fingers gently across Sebastian's back. "I like them."

Sebastian laughed.

Kurt put some lotion on his hands and started to massage Sebastian's back. After he finished, he started kissing the freckles. Sebastian squirmed a bit.

"Should I stop?"

"No. It feels amazing, just a tiny bit tickly."

"Will you turn back over?" Kurt raised up just enough that Sebastian could flip over onto his back. Kurt leaned down and propped himself up on his forearms. "Kissing like this okay?"

"Kissing you any way is fantastic." Sebastian lifted up and kissed Kurt and put his head back down. He put his hands on the sides of Kurt's face, slightly around the sides and pulled him down gently so he could kiss him more easily. "You're going to get a crick in your back and need another back rub."

Kurt put the back of his right hand to his forehead. "Oh, whatever will I do," he feigned the horror of needing another back rub.

Sebastian laughed and pushed the backs of Kurt's arms so they slid up and he fell onto Sebastian's chest. "That's a little better." He used his hands and pushed Kurt's knees back making him fall the rest of the way on top of him. "There." He wrapped his arms around Kurt. "Okay?"

"As long as you can still breathe. Aren't I squishing you?" Kurt laughed.

"Mmm. Yes, and I've decided that I like being squished by you." He laughed and kissed him.

"Well, I think I like squishing you, as long as it doesn't hurt."

Sebastian wiggled around a little. "Oh, my God, Kurt."

"Bas. You can't wiggle like that."

Sebastian laughed. "So, that's a 'not yet'?"

"I don't know. Part of me says go for it."

"Yeah. But I don't want us to regret anything. You can move and lie next to me if you want. I wasn't trying to pressure you or start something we hadn't discussed. I was just trying to get more comfortable."

"Bas, look at me. I know. We were kissing and we were horsing around and it just happened. It's fine." Kurt pulled himself back up onto his knees and started kissing him again. "Now, we know. We'll learn as we go." More kisses. "I love you and some silliness in the bed isn't a problem at all."

"Okay."

Kurt moved to the side. He lifted Sebastian's arm and laid his head on Sebastian's chest reversing their position from how they had slept. Kurt took a deep breath and closed his eyes and relaxed. He put his arm across Sebastian's chest and his hand up along his neck and ran his fingers through his hair.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When Carole texted to let them know that lunch was ready, they went downstairs still wearing their pajamas. Burt was at the table when they walked into the dining room. Kurt and Sebastian sat down to eat.

"Thanks for making us lunch. You didn't have to," Kurt said.

"Well, we wanted to eat with you. You boys are all so busy that it's hard to find a time when everyone can be together, especially with a basketball game nearly every Friday night. And there's one tonight and tomorrow night as well."

"That's true. I get a 3-day weekend with three basketball games to cheer for. At least both of the away games are close by."

"Carole and I are planning to go to tonight's game. I'll make sure that Sue lets you come home with us tonight and with Sebastian tomorrow night."

"Thank you."

"So, it is slouch-around-the-house day? I don't think I've ever seen you come to lunch in your pajamas unless you were sick."

"I'm not sick and we were just relaxing. We each have a little bit of homework left, which we'll do after lunch. Tomorrow we're going to go somewhere like a museum or something. It's too cold to do much of anything outside."

"I thought you had your lessons on Sunday morning."

"I normally do, but I didn't want to drive to Cincinnati that early after a late game."

"Makes sense."

They finished eating fairly quickly. Kurt told Sebastian that he'd do the clean up.

"I'm sure you have more work than I do. Go ahead and get started. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Sebastian went upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After he finished the dishes, Kurt went in the living room, which is where his dad and Carole had gone. He sat down in the chair across from them.

"So, I asked him last night like I told you I was going to. And he said 'yes'. So, now, we're dating."

"Oh, honey. That's wonderful. He's a sweetie."

"I just need to double-check that you are serious about being adult about this. I won't have him caught in the crossfire. He's just getting used to the fact that there are two adults who actually like him. I don't want this to go up in flames because you start giving him laser eyes if he sits too close or talking about where you keep your shotgun if he kisses me."

Carole laughed.

"I mean it, Dad. I really do love him and I won't have you ruin it for me by making him afraid to be himself."

"I get it. I told you Carole knocked some sense into me. I'd appreciate it if you keep it like PG-13 in the public areas of the house. But I'm not going to give him evil looks or anything. The two of you are both 18. What you do is your own business."

"So, for real, if you walk in this room and he and I are sitting on the couch kissing, you're not going to clear your throat and act like we're being publicly indecent?"

"Define kissing."

"Oh, dear God… Carole - your turn. I'm going to go do my homework. And you can explain to Dad what kissing is. I was pretty sure he had gotten the hang of it by now, but obviously he's suffering from memory loss, and he must need some lessons. I'll leave you to that." Kurt got up and flounced toward the stairs.

Carole was cackling so hard that she could barely catch her breath. She leaned towards Burt and kissed him. "You heard him. I'm supposed to give you kissing lessons."

Burt rolled his eyes and kissed her back.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt walked into the bedroom and found Sebastian sitting at his desk working on some type of written assignment that he was typing up on his laptop.

Kurt grabbed his agenda and looked to see what he had left to do. He grabbed the book he was reading for English and stopped behind Sebastian as he was walking toward the chair. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and kissed him right below his ear.

"Mmm." Sebastian turned his head and looked up.

Kurt kissed him on the lips gently and stood back up. He sat in the chair and read the assigned pages. He got up, walked behind Sebastian, pulled out his laptop and answered the required questions sitting at the vanity. He moved on to other assignments. Each time he walked behind Sebastian, he did something physically affectionate. A little less than two hours later, Kurt had finished. As Kurt attempted to walk back past the desk to put his book away, Sebastian put his arm out and blocked him from walking past. He wrapped his arm around Kurt and drew him closer. He pulled him down into his lap.

"I'm almost done. Why don't you start looking for some place fun to go tomorrow?"

Kurt leaned down a bit and kissed him. "Sure." He put his last book away and took his laptop and sat on the bed and started searching.

About 10 minutes later, Sebastian joined him. He scooted up right next to Kurt. "Did you find anything?"

"Some museums. The zoo in Columbus is open, but it's pretty cold outside."

"Let's just bookmark the places you found. We'll look through them later, okay?"

"What do you want to do instead?"

"Snuggle? Can you be the little spoon this time?"

"Sure." Kurt bookmarked the tabs he had opened and shut the computer down. He put it on the desk and got back in bed.

"Shirts on or off?"

"Off, please?" Sebastian slipped his off and lay down.

"Sure." Kurt took his off as well and got back in bed. He lay on his side.

Sebastian scooted up behind him. He slipped his arm under Kurt's pillow and pulled the comforter up over their shoulders. He slid his other arm under Kurt's and wrapped it around Kurt's chest.

Kurt interlaced their fingers and pushed back just a little to close the remaining tiny gap. He pulled Sebastian's hand up to his mouth and kissed his palm. "So what do you think? You like being the big spoon?"

He kissed Kurt's neck. "I do. I liked being the little spoon too."

"We can take turns. Are you tired? Do you actually want to nap?"

"No. I want to snuggle and talk. We always talk. Now, we can snuggle while we talk, right?"

"Definitely." Kurt let go of Sebastian's hand for a second and reached for his phone. He set an alarm and put it back on the shelf. "Just in case we do fall asleep. Coach Sue will have my head on a platter if I'm not on that bus on time."

"I hate the way she treats you." Sebastian slid his thumb across the part of Kurt's chest that his hand was up against. "You don't deserve it." He kissed the back of his neck.

"I really don't mind the home games too much. But I wish I weren't on the travel squad. But you're coming tonight and that will make it better."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Since it was a late game, Carole decided to serve dinner before the game. Kurt and Sebastian had spent the afternoon cuddled up talking in bed. They came down to eat dressed and ready to go. It was just the four of them for dinner like it had been for lunch. Finn and all of the Glee guys were planning to take a break from their gaming to attend the basketball game, which was just across town at Thurston.

Kurt and Sebastian cleared the table while Carole packed up the leftovers.

The four of them headed out in Carole's car to drop Kurt off. After Kurt got on the Cheerios' bus, Sebastian was in the backseat alone on the drive to Thurston.

"Kurt told us this morning that the two of you are dating now," Burt said.

"Yes. That's true. He's my first boyfriend. I've liked him since way back. He's amazing."

"Look, we both know that you've never had a reason to trust any adults, but we're here for you, if you ever want to talk to us. I may be a bit codgery, but I'll do my best. Carole's a great listener and has straightened my thinking out more than a few times." Burt laughed. "By the way, you've done a good job on the books."

"Thank you. I haven't told either of you yet, but I applied to the same college that Kurt did for early admission. I didn't tell him when I did it. He didn't know. He talked about the school and the cost and I did a lot of calculations and realized that going to school there wouldn't cost me anymore than it would to go back to Paris to go to school. I just wanted to see if I might have another option."

"Is that what the envelope you got was about?" Carole asked.

"It was. I got in and I was offered a $5000 scholarship. I'm going to accept the offer."

"Now things make more sense," Burt said.

"What do you mean?" Sebastian asked.

"I asked Kurt if he liked you a while back, maybe at Thanksgiving, maybe before. I'm not sure. He told me that he wouldn't ask you out when you wanted to go back to Paris so badly."

"Mostly at that point, I wanted out from under my father's thumb desperately. My only positive thoughts then were that once school ended, I could at least go back to Paris and get a job and not be so broke that I had to wonder if I could buy soap. I've never had much, but I always found a way to work for what I needed. But my father had my documents. I hated my life so much back then. So, I can see why he thought I wanted to go back to Paris. Life there was hard, very hard. But it was a life I was familiar with."

"I could have sworn you said that you could go to college for free or practically free."

"That's true, but I'd have to pay for my room and my food. I'd have to buy my books and school supplies before school started."

"I thought you'd move back home," Burt said.

"'Home' is a nice word. It means a place where you're wanted and your house is the only place that has ever come close to being 'home'. I told you that my mother owns a flat with two bedrooms. She rents one bedroom out to a student all year, which means from the beginning of September to the beginning of July in France. Whenever I was home from boarding school, I had to pay for my own food, any clothes I wore, and I saved what I could so I could buy things for school like paper and pencils and shampoo. But in order to live with her all school year, I'd have to take the place of her student tenant and pay the $800 a month rent that she charges per month. That's why I said I did the calculations. It's just about the same. I can stay here and go to school and live with Kurt, or with someone else if he doesn't want to room with me, and it will cost me the same as it would in Paris. But here, I at least have the chance of having a decent roommate."

"Oh sweetie, your mother sounds like she needs help."

"I'm sure she does, but she's fine with her life, so her seeking out help is not going to happen. She doesn't have to work and she can do her own thing and she's good with that. She didn't want me. She still doesn't want me. She won't care one way or the other whether I ever go back. The only reason she didn't put me up for adoption was because she got my father to buy her that flat and pay for my care. She used the money he sent to buy me food and a few clothes until I went to boarding school, but she kept the vast majority of it for herself. I'm not sure how much money, but he thought he was paying for the au pair and she was letting the au pair live in my room in exchange for watching me, no actual cash was ever given to the au pair. So he sent her money and she kept most, if not all, for herself."

"So, Robert paid for the flat, but to live there you'd have to pay $800?"

"That's right. She bought herself a lifetime of easy living by keeping me. That's literally the only reason she didn't put me up for adoption. And before you think that I'm making assumptions and that she actually has any maternal instincts, I know this because she told me so, repeatedly."

"That's awful."

"It is what it is. It was just life. But now things are really different. And you guys are the reason it's different. I know you two and Kurt say things like 'It's no big deal.' But you just don't understand that it's a HUGE deal to me."

Burt pulled into the Thurston parking lot and found a parking spot. "You're not dating him out of some sense of guilt or misplaced loyalty are you?" Burt asked.

"No, not at all. I feel differently about him than I've ever felt about anyone else. I've never loved anyone, but I'm pretty sure that's how I feel about him. He's amazing and crazy and a lot of fun. And Sam is all of those things and he and I get along great. So, it's not just that Kurt's the only person whose company I enjoy. I get along with Jeff too. He's the blond Warbler."

"Right," Carole said.

"Jeff and Sam are my friends. I'm closer to Sam in some ways and Jeff in others. But Kurt is different. How I feel about him is different. I've spent most of my life just trying to stay afloat and not attract attention. Education was what I saw as my key to escaping the life I had. I never focused on interpersonal relationships, other than how to be charming or prickly, depending on the situation, both serving to deflect any unwanted interest in my personal life. Maybe you and I can talk a little during the game, Carole."

"Sure. We can sit away from the crowd and talk. Let's head inside. The game starts in about 10 minutes."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The New Directions guys showed up and Burt sat with them. Carole and Sebastian went higher up in the bleachers and sat by themselves. They spent most of the game talking. Sebastian opened up about a lot of things to Carole.

"I think the thing I'm really struggling with is that he wants to be with me. I struggled with that initially when he kept trying to be my friend. And just being friends with him has been really great. He's never been judgmental about my past. He didn't even criticize my bad choices last semester. He doesn't play mind games with people. I'm just not used to that."

"Sweetie, he really cares about you. You know that, right?"

"I do. He told me."

"So, you said you're pretty sure that you love him. So, let me ask you a few things. You seen other guys you found physically attractive, I'm assuming?"

Sebastian nodded shyly.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. But that feeling when you see someone attractive that makes you think you might like to see them wearing less than they're wearing, that type of attraction is more along the lines of sexual attraction or lust. You like what you see. It's attractive and attention grabbing."

He nodded.

"Then you mentioned Sam and Jeff. When Sam or Jeff walk into a room you're in, how does that make you feel?"

"A little more relaxed. Since I've not gotten close with many people, having one of them around gives me this 'at least there's one person to talk to' kind of feeling. Like I'm not alone. I like talking to both of them."

"So, let's just play pretend for a minute. Pretend that Jeff and Sam are both confirmed gay. Would that change how you see either one of them?"

"In this pretend game do I know Kurt?"

"No."

"Well, if I was 100% certain that Sam was gay or bi, I might be willing to date him. He's really nice and we get along. He's attractive and kind. He's not conceited and wouldn't be concerned that I wasn't rich."

"But if in this pretend scenario you did know Kurt?"

"I'd want Kurt."

"Why?"

"He's just this ray of light. He's kind of… he's just breathtaking. He's snarky and funny and smart and totally sexy without even trying. Sorry. I'm trying to be honest, but it feels weird to say that to someone's parent."

"I asked," she laughed. "So if he walked into a room?"

"I'd break off talking to whoever I was talking to and go talk to him instead."

"What does your body do when you see him?"

"My heart speeds up, I get sort of flushed sometimes. Even from up here, if I look down where he's cheering and he makes eye contact, it makes me smile."

"Sweetie, I'm just going to tell you what I see, okay?"

He nodded.

"When he walks in the room, your eyes light up. My bet is that it happens even if you hear someone say his name and he's not around."

"Tina has asked me several times, so I'm guessing that you're not the only one who's seen this happen."

"You do things for him expecting nothing in return. You seem to thoroughly enjoy his company. I mean you spend hours together in your room just talking to each other. I'm certain that you love him as a person. That can be seen from your actions. The question is whether you are in love with him. When you think of you're future, can you see him in it? Can you see the two of you being able to get along and live together? Does the idea of that make you feel excited or full of dread?"

"Excited."

"What's the first thing you think about when you wake up?"

"How many days until Friday?"

"And that's because?"

"I get to come home and see Kurt on Friday."

She smiled at him.

"And what's the last thing you think about before you go to bed?"

"We talk every night before we go to sleep, but I miss being in the same room with him."

"And when you're at home with him?"

"How glad I am to get to spend time with him."

"Sweetie, I'm not a psychiatrist or some expert on relationships, but I'm pretty sure that you've covered just about all of the bases for loving and being in love with someone. You put him first by doing things for him without expecting something in return. Your eyes light up every time you see him. You think about him when you wake up and before you go to bed. If you got to choose anyone to spend time with, it would be him. He's your person, meaning that if you were upset, he'd be the first person you'd go to, and if something amazing happened, he'd still be the first person you'd go to."

Sebastian nodded. "He would be."

"I think you have your answer." She patted him on the leg.

"Thanks for talking with me."

"Any time, Sebastian. Kurt is an extremely loyal person and he loves you. You're already family. And you'll eventually feel like you belong. It's taken Finn some time and he's still struggling with accepting a new father figure. He grew up with is just being the two of us. And I overindulged him. He's having to grow up and learn that things he considered to be true just aren't. The stupid belief that people choose to be gay is the biggest hurdle for him in our family. I can tell him repeatedly that people are born gay, but when so many other people tell him that their parents say that it's a choice, a sinful, one-way-trip-to-hell choice - he struggles. The lie you hear loud enough and long enough feels true. You understand that in a way. You heard your mother tell you that you weren't wanted, your father was never part of your life, and now that people are telling you that you are wanted, you struggle to believe it's true. My hope is that Finn will eventually figure it out and stop acting like Kurt can just flip a switch and be what Finn considers to be 'normal'."

"Kurt told me to tell you or Burt if Finn said anything homophobic to me."

"Yes. He is absolutely right. We will not put up with that at all. The house belongs to the two of you as much as is does to him. If he's determined to hold onto his negativity about being gay, he can stay in his room when he's at home."

"That's exactly what Kurt said would happen. That you would ground him to his room."

"You and Kurt are free to be yourselves."

"Thank you – really. Thanks for talking to me. I've never had an adult sit and talk to me before. It's nice."

Carole wrapped her arm around Sebastian's waist and side hugged him. "You're welcome, sweetie. I'm always here if you need me or you just want to talk."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian waited inside the car while Burt argued with Sue about how Kurt would be going home in the car right then and again the next night. Eventually, Sue relented and Kurt came over to the car. Sam was long gone with the New Directions guys.

Kurt slid into the backseat and slid over to the center spot and put his seatbelt on. He put his bag in the empty space next to him. He offered his hand to Sebastian who quickly took it, immediately interlacing his fingers with Kurt's. Kurt leaned over and put his head on Sebastian's shoulder.

"Tired?"

"Very."

Burt got in and they headed back to the house.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian showered quickly, leaving Kurt to take his time. While Kurt was in the shower, Sebastian went downstairs and made two cups of hot chocolate, making Kurt's with skim milk and stevia like he preferred. He put non-fat whipped cream on top and took the mugs back up to their room. He sat them on the dresser on an old work t-shirt he grabbed quickly so the mugs couldn't mess up the top of the dresser.

Kurt came out a few minutes later, wearing only his pajama bottoms. "Okay?"

"Definitely. I want to give you another massage. I made you hot chocolate."

"You're a sweetheart." Kurt walked over to the dresser and took his. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sebastian put the t-shirt back in the dresser and took his mug over to the bed and sat down on the edge. He patted the spot next to him.

Kurt sat down next to him. "It's perfect."

Sebastian wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist and they sat and finished the cocoa. He took Kurt's mug into the bathroom and rinsed them both out and left them sit on the side of the counter. He went back out and found that Kurt hadn't moved. He walked around and kneeled in front of him and took his hands. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm just tired. We never did pick someplace to go tomorrow."

"We don't have to go anywhere. We can stay here. Sam and Finn will still be gone. We could play the Wii and watch a movie or two. And cook together without everything we make looking like prey to the vulture that is Finn."

Kurt laughed. "That could be fun. It will be more fun to go out places when it's not quite so cold. The hot chocolate was perfect. Let's get turn the lights off and get under the covers. We can decide in the morning."

Kurt left the salt lamp on, but turned everything else off and got in bed with Sebastian, who was lying on his side facing Kurt's side of the bed. Kurt lay down facing the same way so he'd be the little spoon.

"Can you face me instead?"

Kurt plopped over. "Of course."

"Closer."

Kurt scooted closer.

Sebastian ran his fingers down the side of Kurt's face gently and then leaned in just enough to gently kiss Kurt. "I want to tell you something."

"Okay."

Sebastian did his best to relax. He closed his eyes and felt Kurt's lips on his. He opened his eyes.

"You looked tense. Like you needed another kiss," Kurt smiled.

Sebastian smiled. He reached for Kurt's hand under the covers and pulled it up and interlaced their fingers. "I love you, Kurt." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt gently again.

Kurt did his best to wrap his arms around Sebastian. "I love you too."

"I talked to Carole during the game."

"I saw you two sitting together. She's a good listener."

"She is. She helped me sort myself out."

"That's good."

"I told your parents about the scholarship and attending university here in Ohio instead of going back to Paris. And I told them a little more about my life in Paris."

Kurt just listened, giving Sebastian the opportunity to say everything had to say. He gently rubbed his thumb across Sebastian's index finger.

"She's the first adult I've ever really sat and talked with. It was nice."

Kurt kissed him gently.

"Turn over and I'll give you a massage before you end up falling asleep before I get a chance to do it."

"We can just sleep if you want."

"No, I really want to give you a massage, unless you don't want one."

"I love when you touch me, so of course I want one, but you don't have to feel obligated."

"I don't feel obligated. I feel privileged. You trust me to touch you." He leaned forward and started kissing Kurt. This kiss wasn't the reassuring kisses that Kurt had been giving him since they had gotten in the bed. This one was full of passion. Eventually, they pulled back to catch their breath. "I love you, Kurt. So much." He wrapped Kurt up in his arms and held him close.

Kurt snuggled in and let Sebastian hold him. "Mmm. I love you, Bas."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was snuggled into Sebastian's side and they were looking through websites on Kurt's phone. "So, what do you think? The Toledo Museum of Art today or the Toledo Zoo tomorrow?"

"It is pretty cold out. I don't know how many of the animals we can see if they aren't outside."

"Let's go to the art museum. We can stop by the zoo and ask whether there are many animals outside this time of year, and if they are actually out where we can see them, we can go back tomorrow. It's not even an hour and a half each way."

"Good idea. The museum doesn't open until noon. The zoo opens at 10:00. We can stop by there first. We can leave at 10:00." Sebastian grabbed Kurt's phone and put it on his side of the bed. Then he lay down in the bed and pulled Kurt down in the bed too. "So, more snuggles." Sebastian pulled Kurt closer.

"You're a snuggle bear."

Sebastian let loose and scooted back.

"Bas?" Kurt turned over. "What's wrong?"

"Am I being too… I don't know. Am I doing something you don't like?"

"Letting go of me was the only problem. I like being snuggled. 'Snuggle bear' was a positive statement."

"Oh."

Kurt kissed him. "Remember what I said about not manipulating you? I'm not going to be passive/aggressive. If something's bothering me, I will tell you kindly. I won't be confusing about it and then punish you when you don't guess what's wrong with me. I don't understand why people do that to each other." Kurt kissed him again. "The snuggling is as new for me as it is for you. I never knew I'd like being snuggled so much. If at any point, I reach a snuggle overload, I'll tell you gently and ask for a little space for a few minutes."

"Okay. I never knew how much I would enjoy it either. I love having you close."

Kurt scooted closer and ran his hand through Sebastian's hair. "So back to snuggling like we were or kissing and snuggling with me facing this way?"

Sebastian scooted closer again and kissed him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian handed the coat check clerk his coat. He kept his scarf with him, not willing to risk potentially losing something Kurt had made for him. He slipped his camera into his empty back pocket and his phone into his empty front pocket. Kurt handed his coat over next. They set off to explore the Toledo Museum of Art.

They spent the entire afternoon looking through the museum walking hand in hand. Kurt thought Sebastian might be hesitant, but any time they had to let go of each other for some reason, Sebastian would reach right back for his hand as soon as possible. They got a few looks from people, but it was hard to know whether it was because they were a gay couple or if it was because it was unusual to see two male teenagers who were so interested in the artwork.

They absolutely loved the museum. On their way back to the Navigator, they continued talking.

Kurt said, "This is a historic day. For the first time in my life, I may not actually hate Ohio. I'm willing to admit that maybe, just maybe, living in Ohio might not have to be as bad as it has been. I've never been to any of the places like this in Ohio. I was always so leery of going places by myself because of they way I've been treated in Lima. I was afraid I'd drive an hour somewhere and end up in a dumpster or any number of bad endings."

"I can see why you'd think that."

"But this was amazing." He swung their intertwined hands. "This, with you, is amazing." The joy of the freedom and fun time they had together was evident on Kurt's face.

Sebastian was aglow as well. He never considered that being with someone would bring the other person so much joy – that he could be a source of joy to someone.

When they got back to the Navigator, Kurt walked Sebastian up to the passenger door and gently pushed him back against the side of the SUV and kissed Sebastian and then wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Loving me. Being with me. Coming here with me. Lots of things."

"Well, you're welcome. And since I don't want to see your head on a platter, go get in the other side and let's get back before you're late for a very important date with the Red Queen."

Kurt kissed him one more time. "You're right." He squeezed Sebastian and let go. He walked around and got in. He started the Navigator up and headed back toward Lima.

"I'm going to attempt to renegotiate my contract with her. I don't want to cheer for baseball. I'm done after basketball. I'll stay on the squad to practice the routines for Regionals, if she wants me to, but I really want to be done."

"I don't blame you. Sam has told me what she says to all of you when you practice and it makes me want to deck her. I won't, but she's awful."

"Let's talk about something else."

"Alright. How about we talk about me and you getting an apartment in Cincinnati?"

"Now, that's a fun topic. Come with me next Sunday?"

"Sure."

"We can go drive around the area around the campus and get a feel for the area and figure out where we'd like to live. We'll drive the bus routes that go near campus too. Maybe there's some affordable places near the bus route."

Once they were back out on he highway, Kurt reached over and took Sebastian's hand. They talked all the way back to Lima.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole had dinner waiting for them when they got home. Kurt ate and changed and headed to the school with Sam.

"So, I have something to tell you," Kurt said.

"What's that?"

"Sebastian and I are dating."

"Since when?"

"Well I asked him Friday night. You were gone all day yesterday and weren't back when we left this morning. I wasn't trying to keep it a secret."

"And your dad's okay with you sharing a room still?"

"Surprisingly, yes. He said we're both 18 and that he's not going to interfere."

"It still seems weird that he's okay with it."

"I know. But he's trying to be treat me like an adult and not like a child anymore."

"Okay." Sam said not sounding convinced.

"What about you? You said there was someone you liked a while back when I asked you about Mercedes."

"Taken. Waited too long."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that."

"No one's fault but my own for being a scaredy cat. I thought Sebastian was going back to France for college. What made you decide to ask someone out who's leaving in four or five months?"

"Oh, he's not leaving. He applied to college here in Ohio. He'll get in-state tuition, so it's actually going to cost him about the same or less than going to back to Paris to go to school."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah. You don't seem like you're pleased."

"Oh, sorry. I'm just really tired. I'm glad you're happy, really. I should have come home last night to sleep. A third basketball game in three days when I didn't really sleep last night isn't a good idea. Maybe I should have had coffee with dinner."

"Hopefully, once you get moving, your adrenaline will kick in or something."

"Yeah. I hope so."

They pulled into the school lot and into a parking spot.

"Are you coming home after the game or going back to Puck's or Artie's or wherever?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, Carole and Sebastian are coming to the game, so I'll go home with them. Just don't leave the car here, Mr. Sleepyhead."

"I won't forget the car."

"I'll cheer for you to stay awake."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"That's 15 down, 7 to go. I'm really ready for this to be over with," Kurt said as he slid into the backseat with Sebastian. He scooted to the middle, so he could sit right next to Sebastian. As soon as his seatbelt was on, he leaned on Sebastian. "I don't want to do this anymore – the away games. I'm going to have to get up the nerve to tell Coach Sue."

"Why do you hate the away games so much, honey?"

"Because I'm the only guy that cheers at the away games. At the home games, the lifters cheer with us. At the away games, I get called a lot of names from the home teams and I'm just tired of being harassed. It's not like there aren't at least five girls chomping at the bit to take my travel team spot."

Sebastian put his arm around Kurt and pulled him into his chest. "You never said you were being harassed."

"I was trying to stay strong and ignore it, but there's no point. Me ignoring them is not teaching them to be decent. It's not like me being put down is somehow making me a better person or teaching them to be better people. It's just hurting me and I'm done. I put up with Coach Sue berating me every practice. I just can't with the taunts from the crowd anymore."

"Honey, I'll be at the school Tuesday at lunch and by the end of lunch, you won't be on the travel squad anymore."

"Thanks, Carole."

"You're welcome, honey. Enough's enough."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian showered quickly. While Kurt was in the shower, Sebastian went down to the kitchen and looked for something he thought Kurt might actually eat. He had noticed how loose Kurt's pants were compared to how they had fit before. He went to find Carole quickly.

"What will Kurt eat no matter whether he's hungry or not?"

"I honestly don't know of anything. I'm sorry. He's not a snacker that I've ever seen. He doesn't eat ice cream or cookies or even chips. Your very best bet is to make something yourself and the fact that you made it might get him to eat it."

"Thanks."

He went back into the kitchen and looked in the fridge. He found some broccoli. An idea came to mind. He started a kettle of water. He chopped the broccoli into tiny pieces and diced some onions up and sautéed them in some butter. He whipped up 3 eggs and a little milk and poured the mixture into the skillet. He grabbed a slice of cheese and broke it into pieces and put it in the pan. He put a tea bag into a cup and poured the hot water in.

Once he could flip the eggs, he did, and then he folded it over and slid it onto a plate. He pulled the tea bag out and added a few drop of liquid stevia. He poured himself a glass of water, grabbed a fork, and put everything on a tray and took it upstairs.

He managed to get back upstairs before Kurt came out of the bathroom. He sat the tray down, shut and locked the door, and went over to the bathroom door and knocked gently.

"Are you almost done?"

"I'll be right out."

"Okay."

Kurt came out and his eyes were red.

Sebastian walked up and pulled him into a hug and held him tight. "You've been crying."

"I know. It's dumb. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Being such a baby."

"You're not being a baby. You're being human. Come sit down."

Kurt sat on the bed.

Sebastian went to the dresser and grabbed the tray and brought it over.

"You made me a veggie omelette? And tea?"

"I did. Eat up before it gets cold."

"I can't eat all of it."

"Well, you eat whatever you can and I'll eat what's left."

"Alright. Thank you. You're very sweet."

"Shh. That's our secret."

Kurt laughed.

Sebastian kissed him. He picked up the fork and cut a bite off and offered it to Kurt.

"You're going to feed me too?"

"If you want."

Kurt took the fork and ate about 2/3 of the omelette and gave the fork back to Sebastian who polished off the rest, while Kurt drank his tea.

"It was delicious. Thank you."

"You already thanked me, but you're welcome. Get under the covers. I'll be right back."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian put the stuff in the dishwasher and put the tray away and knocked on Carole's door super lightly. She opened the door.

"I can't stay. He's lost a lot of weight. Insist that he weigh himself when he's in that office with you tomorrow. I think he's bordering on anorexia. And you're right, he ate it because I made it especially for him, well, he ate 2/3 of it, which was only 2 eggs. Not more than 300 calories after all that exercise. She's killing him. And those girls. She needs to be stopped. I have to get back upstairs."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian shut and locked the door behind him, turned all of the lights off, except the nightlight lamp on Kurt's side shelf, and got in bed with Kurt. He thought he might be asleep with how still he was, but once Sebastian got in the bed, Kurt flipped over and moved Sebastian's arm and cuddled up with his head on Sebastian's chest.

Sebastian wrapped his arm around Kurt. "Comfy?"

"Very." And Kurt wiggled closer. "Can I put my leg on yours?"

"Sure."

That helped Kurt get even closer and snuggle in with no remaining gaps. By this point, he was nearly half lying on Sebastian. He tipped his head back a little. "Kiss me?"

"Of course." Sebastian turned his head and tipped it down a bit and kissed Kurt.

Kurt seemed to melt into him, letting the tension flow out.

Sebastian ran his hand along Kurt's arms stroking gently. "You know Frenchmen give their lovers nicknames."

"I've read about this. Some of them are pretty funny when translated like _mon chou _– my cabbage."

"I've come up with yours."

"What?" he asked with piqued interest.

"_Mon étoile_."

"Why did you choose that?"

"Do you not like it?"

"I do actually. I just wondered what made you choose it."

"Well, people use the north star to find their way home. And you helped me find my way home. To a real home with you."

Kurt pushed up onto his elbow and scooted up in the bed a little. He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian. He was speechless at the moment, but couldn't leave Sebastian hanging. He ran his hand along the side of Sebastian face. He lowered himself back down and wrapped himself back around Sebastian. "I… that…Bas…" Kurt kissed him again. "That was beautiful. That's the most beautiful reason for a pet name ever. I never thought I would like one, but I love it. I love you."

Kurt pushed up again and got on his hands and knees straddling Sebastian. He started kissing down Sebastian's neck. He sat up a bit and put his hands on each side of Sebastian's face and kissed him with all the passion he felt. When he pulled away to catch his breath, he gently ran his hands down Sebastian's arms and back up and then down his chest.

When Kurt started using his hands to explore, Sebastian started to as well. He ran his hands along Kurt's sides and chest and Kurt leaned forward slightly. He lightly ran his hands down Kurt's arms.

Kurt leaned down and kissed Sebastian again. "Okay?"

"Yeah, very okay. A lot turned on, but that's because you're so sexy." Sebastian pulled Kurt down for more kissing.

When they broke apart for air again, Kurt moved to Sebastian's side and lay down snuggled up against him.

Kurt ran his hand along Sebastian's chest tracing patterns with his fingers. "I just want to make sure you're not feeling like you have to do this. I don't want you to feel like since you agreed to be my boyfriend that you have to go along with something if you don't want to."

"Hey," Sebastian turned on his side. "Where's this coming from? This feeling that you're being pushy when you aren't?"

"It's hard to explain because it probably doesn't even make sense. I think it's just a combination of the fact that I want you to always have the choice to continue or stop. And combine that with two nights in a row of being called things I won't repeat that make me feel like the only thing I'm good for is a good time. Someone else's good time, not mine. I don't want you to feel like I asked you to be my boyfriend just so I could have someone to make out with because I was horny and alone." Kurt struggled to hold his tears back. "I want to make sure you want to be with me. I'm 99% certain that you're not just playing me so that you can have fun with me and then toss me when you find someone better looking and…"

Sebastian put his index finger on Kurt's lips. "Stop, please. God, what have these people been saying to you?"

"You don't want to know."

"I'm not sure it could be worse than what I'm imagining right now."

"Trust me. It probably could be."

"Okay. Take a deep breath." He could hear Kurt inhale and then exhale. "First off, we've slept together in this bed for the equivalent of 3-4 weeks. Never once did you behave unbecomingly. Secondly, whatever that was about me thinking you're a plaything and me using you until I find someone better is just insane. I wish you had told Carole what these people were saying to you. I understand that we were still getting to know each other when the basketball games first started 8 weeks ago or whatever and you might not have felt comfortable telling me because you still haven't actually told me. But listen very closely. This isn't a game to me. You are not a plaything for me. I am not looking for my next conquest or whatever while I am biding my time with you." Sebastian pulled Kurt close and wrapped him in his arms. "If I have to, I'll skip school Tuesday and I'll go with you and Carole to support you in your resignation, so that the coach can't bully you into staying. I will not have this go on any longer. I meant it when I said that I love you. I will not allow you to be mistreated like that if I can do something to prevent it or stop it."

"Thank you."

"Caring is part of the boyfriend package right?"

Kurt didn't answer.

"I get it. It wasn't the last time." He placed gentle kisses on Kurt's hair. "It is this time. Whatever lies you've been hearing are just that. They're lies. Here's the truth, so listen carefully, okay?"

Kurt barely nodded.

"You've liked me for quite a while. You said you've loved me since around Christmas, which was about a month ago. You've been an amazing friend to me. You pushed your romantic feelings aside and continued to be my friend because you care about me. You didn't let me in on your feelings beyond friendship until you knew I was going to stay in Ohio. That shows me how much you care. That you're not in this for what you can get out of me. If you were if you were just horny and alone or whatever, you could have tried to get me to agree to a physical relationship with you like 'friends with benefits' or whatever. If you were just out for a 'good time', you could have hooked up with at least 10 different guys at the club that night. "

Kurt nodded.

"Those same things are true about me. I was just looking for a 'good time' to relieve my own sexual desires, I could have just hooked up with some of the guys at Dalton or could have been hanging out at that club in Columbus during the week to pick guys up. So, whatever these homophobic jerks have been saying to you that has gotten you in such a state needs to be banished from your mind."

Kurt nodded.

Sebastian gently moved Kurt away from him just enough that he could guide his face up towards his. "Here's what's true. You love me and I love you. You care about me and I care about you. I didn't ask you out for the same reason you didn't ask me out. I wasn't going to start something with you if I wasn't staying. I don't use people and neither do you."

He gently pecked Kurt on the lips.

"Now, I think that you are gorgeous. I've mentioned this since we first met. This is not a secret. You never said anything about whether you found me attractive, which is fine because we were just friends, so I'll just verify that now. You do find me attractive?"

"Definitely."

"Okay, so there's that. We love each other. We care about each other, we each find the other attractive, and neither of us is the type to use someone sexually. We both know that we can say 'yes', 'not yet', or 'no' without angering the other. So, no one is being pressured. I was thoroughly enjoying myself and I thought you were too."

"I was."

"We're both 18. And until yesterday neither of us had French kissed anyone. I'm pretty sure that eliminates either one of us from being slutty or whatever derogatory words were being used about you."

"You're right."

"So, we aren't sluts. Our love isn't wrong. We aren't using each other sexually or emotionally. We care about each other. We respect each other. We love each other."

"Mmm hmm."

"If you want to set limits on what we do, we can talk about that now or some other time. But it's really no one's business how fast or slow we go. We've both waited until we're adults and as consenting adults we can consent to however little or much physical contact as we like."

"I'm sorry I ruined the mood with my freak out."

"Oh, the mood is not ruined. You are still in the bed with me with your shirt off."

Kurt laughed.

"Oh, you without a shirt is definitely not a laughing matter." He kissed Kurt, first gently, giving Kurt the chance to stop there if he wanted. He let Kurt shift the mood of the kissing to more passionate. Kurt rolled onto his back, leading Sebastian to straddle him to continue making out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Monday morning, they had breakfast with Carole, who took off for work as soon as she finished eating. Sam and Finn hadn't returned from Artie's house the night before, leaving the two of them alone in the house.

"It might be unusual, but how about an after-breakfast movie?" Kurt asked. "We have the family room to ourselves."

"We could do that."

"Or?"

"We could go back upstairs and snuggle more and then go to the shop and put in several hours of work."

"Oh, back to being hardworking, I see," Kurt teased.

"I left time in my hardworking schedule for fun. Snuggling is very fun and relaxing."

"You're right, we need to head over there at some point and keep things going smoothly. Plus, we need money to do other fun things."

"We do. So, movie and then work? Or snuggles and then work?"

"Snuggles."

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt from behind and kissed him on the back of the neck while Kurt was finishing up the dishes. He took the clean skillet from Kurt, dried it, and put it away.

"Done."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They snuggled and talked. They left in time to be at the shop when it opened. Sebastian worked on the books. Kurt worked on the cars that were waiting to be repaired. They stayed for four hours and then headed out.

When they got back to the house, Kurt headed down to the freezer. Sebastian followed him.

"How does vegetable soup sound?"

"Sounds good to me."

Kurt grabbed a couple of bags of frozen vegetables and headed back upstairs. "There's some ground beef in the fridge. Can you start browning it?"

"Sure." Sebastian found the package and got a skillet out and started cooking the meat. "What seasonings should I add?"

"Salt, pepper, a little basil and oregano, garlic, and onions."

Sebastian used a garlic press on a couple of cloves of garlic and found a small onion and minced it. He added both to the meat and continued to brown it.

Kurt assembled the rest of the soup in a stockpot. Once the meat was done, Kurt had Sebastian add it to the stockpot and put the lid on. Kurt took the skillet to the sink and started to wash it. He felt Sebastian's arms wrap around him from behind and then a gentle kiss on his neck. Kurt put the skillet in the dish drain to air dry, wiped his hands on a towel, and turned to face Sebastian. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian and held him close.

He let go with one hand and pulled his hand out of his pocket, chose a playlist and started it, and then put his phone back in his pocket. He changed the position of his other hand and started moving to the music. They slow danced around the kitchen while they waited for the soup to start to boil. Kurt kissed him and let go long enough to turn the heat down to a low simmer and went right back into Sebastian's arms. They danced around, mostly just swaying and exchanging gentle kisses.

He danced them toward the laundry room door and then through it. He let go of Sebastian long enough to shut the door and then back Sebastian up against it. He wrapped his arms back around Sebastian's neck and kissed him, this time full of passion.

Sebastian slipped his hands up under Kurt's shirt, causing Kurt to moan.

Kurt pulled back and laid his head on Sebastian's shoulder, catching his breath. "I really like kissing you."

"Well, I really like kissing you."

"Let's check on the soup and hopefully eat it. We can go upstairs and kiss more afterwards."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They both felt grimy after working in the garage, and decided to shower after lunch. After they finished eating and were nearly to the bedroom, Kurt said, "Go shower. Then I will."

After they stepped inside the room and Sebastian closed and locked the door, he said, "We could save water…"

Kurt was surprised by the forward nature of Sebastian's statement, but he wasn't opposed to the idea entirely – just potentially embarrassed and scared more than anything. "Really?"

"I'm offering. And then I'm asking. So, you can say 'yes' or 'not yet'. And either way, I'm going to go get in the shower. So, you can decide and either come in or not." Sebastian gave him a peck on the lips as he walked past him to the bathroom.

Kurt grabbed pajama pants for both of them, waited until Sebastian was in the shower and opened the bathroom door and closed it behind him, locking it even though the bedroom door was locked. He put the pajama pants on the sink. "I want to, but I'm scared."

"Scared of what?"

Kurt bit his lower lip, and then answered. "That you won't like what you see."

"Why would that be the case? You can say 'not yet' and it's okay."

Kurt took a deep breath and undressed. He moved closer to the tub and reached out toward the door. "Point the sprayer away from the doors. I'm going to step in." Kurt heard the water change to spraying on the tile and he slid the door to the side and steeled himself for potential humiliation.

Sebastian turned around and he saw the absolute fear in Kurt's eyes. He took a step toward him and closed his eyes and leaned forward and kissed him. "Can I wash your hair?"

"I'm okay?"

"Okay? Kurt, _mon étoile_, you are as gorgeous as ever."

"You're sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. Open your eyes. Why are you so afraid?"

"The one and only time another boy saw me with my pants down, he said there was something wrong with me and I was like 8 or 9. It was in a school bathroom."

"Well, I don't see anything wrong with you. You look like a naked teenager to me – a gorgeous naked teenager who is my amazing boyfriend. Can I wash your hair?"

"Okay."

"Which one of these is for your hair?"

Kurt pointed.

Sebastian put some in his hand and started massaging it into Kurt's hair. He took the sprayer down and rinsed his hair. He made sure there was no shampoo on Kurt's face. Kurt still looked really nervous. "Is this too much? Do you want to get out? You can. I won't be upset."

"No, I like it. A lot. It's just really scary. Everyone has said terrible things about my body most of my life. And after spending months with someone who turned me down and then only became interested when drunk and in need of an acting boost and I was convenient, I felt like even gay guys wouldn't find me attractive. The amount of crap I went through…anyway… I guess I just want to know this time. I want to know that you want me, even if we don't… you know… for a long time."

"Oh, I want you. No issue there. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable around me, like I'm pushing you. What I really want to do is soap my hands up and run them all over you and touch you everywhere. Does that help you figure out the answers your questions."

Kurt nodded. For the first time since he got in, he let himself look at Sebastian. "You look like me."

"A naked teenager? Yeah."

"I mean…"

"Oh. You never seen anyone else that's… I get it. I couldn't figure out what you thought was so unusual about how you look. I've only seen a few Jewish guys in locker rooms who don't look like us."

"Can I wash your hair too?"

"Sure." He took his bottle of shampoo and opened it and poured the right amount into Kurt's hand.

Kurt reached up and gently worked it through his hair and then rinsed it out. "I was terrified I'd get in here and you'd hate how I look. But you don't."

"I like how you look. You're gorgeous." Sebastian kissed him.

"Can you hand me the body wash?"

"Sure." Kurt soaped up the washcloth he had brought with him and started to wash himself while Sebastian did the same thing.

Sebastian sprayed him down when he was ready. "Turn." He got the first view of Kurt's backside and wolf whistled.

Kurt was flushing.

"You are gorgeous, Kurt Hummel. All of the morons who have said things about your body clearly are too stupid to know what a gorgeous man looks like, which would make sense since they're most likely straight."

Kurt laughed.

"And given the slight preview I just got, perhaps jealous as well. You are quite well-endowed it seems."

Kurt flushed again.

Sebastian rinsed himself off and hung the sprayer back up.

"Let's get out and get in the bed and snuggle." Sebastian turned the water off.

Kurt turned and slid the door open and grabbed Sebastian's towel and handed it to him, then grabbed his own.

Sebastian dried quickly and hung his towel back up and slipped a pair of the pajama pants on. "You can do your face stuff tonight. Come on."

Kurt hung his towel up, slipped the other pair of pajama pants on and followed Sebastian to the bed.

"Come on." Sebastian was holding the covers up for him to get under.

Kurt slipped in.

"You be the little spoon, okay?"

Kurt turned on his side and Sebastian scooted up behind him. He wrapped his arm around him and slid the other arm under Kurt's pillow. He traced patterns on Kurt's chest gently. "Is everything okay? You didn't make a choice you're regretting now did you?"

"No. Did you?"

"Definitely not. We're a pair, aren't we? You've been terrified that no one would ever find you attractive and I've been terrified no one would ever love me. I've been propositioned too many times to count. I've never been concerned that there wouldn't be guys who would want to get me in bed. I just wanted to find someone who actually loved me, not just wanted my body. And you've been afraid no one would ever find you attractive enough to want you."

"You were stunned silent when I told you. You really never expected to hear those words did you?"

"I didn't."

"Well, I will be sure and tell you every day, so you'll never wonder. I love you, Bas."

"And you're stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. And I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A couple of hours later, after lying in bed snuggling and talking, nothing more, Kurt asked, "Are you starting the early morning return to Dalton this week?"

"Most definitely. I'll have to leave just a little bit earlier tomorrow because I don't have a uniform with me and I'll have to run up to my room to change before I go to class. But I'm sleeping right here with you in my arms or me in yours as often as I possibly can."

"Carole will be home in about an hour. I have no idea if Sam and Finn came back yet."

"I didn't hear any tale tell signs of Finn's clomping up the stairs."

"Me either, but they could just be in the family room still playing video games."

"I will need to do a load of clothes and pack this evening. I'll drop them in the washer when we get called down to eat. I've been seriously considering having Carole call me out of school tomorrow so I can go with her to confront the horrible coach at your school. Do you want to keep cheering or have you had enough?"

"I don't want to be a quitter."

"That's not what I asked."

"I know. I enjoy the activity itself. I don't enjoy the training because she is so awful. I like learning to do the flips. But I hate being yelled at."

"I'm going to talk to Carole about going with her."

"You should go to school."

"Are you asking me not to go? Because unless she refuses my request to go with her, or you actually ask me not to, I plan to go. This coach cannot continue to think that she can abuse someone I love. I won't just let people hurt you."

Kurt turned over and managed to get his arms around Sebastian's neck and kissed him. "Don't ever doubt that you're good at the boyfriend thing. You're fabulous at it."

"I thought you were the fabulous one."

"We're fabulous together," he teased.

Sebastian laughed. "You're crazy."

"A well-established fact, but you love me."

"I do. We better get dressed. I'm sure we'll be called down to dinner any time."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After cleaning up after dinner, Kurt and Sebastian found Carole sitting in the living room with one of her sudoku magazines.

"Can we talk to you?" Sebastian asked.

"Sure. What's up?" She laid the magazine and pencil down on the end table.

"I want to go with you to McKinley tomorrow when you talk to the cheerleading coach."

"Why?"

"I want her to know that people aren't going to stand by and let her get away with this. The things that have been said to Kurt are just unacceptable. She was in charge while this verbal abuse from other students was taking place. She did nothing to stop it. She also abuses Kurt and the other Cheerios on a daily basis. I'm not okay with that. I didn't realize how bad what she says was. Kurt has been abused by people so much of his life that he doesn't even bother sharing it with the people who love him. He has just gotten so used to it that he doesn't even think to tell people. And even once he told me, I still didn't get any details. This has to stop."

"Kurt, honey, I thought things were better at school this year."

"They are. Azimio left after _West Side Story_. His dad got transferred or something. And with him gone, there's just the hockey players that are mouthy. Coach Beiste doesn't put up with the football players being bullies. The physical bullying has stopped, even the slushie facials. So, things are definitely better."

"Then why is Sebastian so upset?"

"He wants people to actually be decent? Something that's not likely to happen. Some people just aren't decent people and expecting them to be is pointless."

"I know all about people not being decent. You know that. But unlike parents, teachers actually have to study for years and get licenses to teach. We trust teachers to be good role models for students. Her behavior is unacceptable and she should lose her job if she doesn't change. I don't care how many national titles she's won. I live in this district now and I'm old enough to have a say so. And I'm not going to sit back while she hurts people."

"Well, sweetie, I'll take you with me, but rest assured that she won't take kindly to you being there."

"She's likely to lay into you and call you names as well. She has no compulsion to behave appropriately. She insults Mr. Schue in the hallways. The fact that you're 18 or live in this district will make no difference to her as far as I know."

"She was decent the day we went to the homeless shelter and that was her idea. There has to be a decent shred of a human being left in her somewhere. I want to talk to her."

"Alright. I'll call in the morning and arrange for a meeting with her. I'll keep Kurt home until it's time to go meet her. And I'll call you out in the morning as well."

"Thank you."

Kurt and Sebastian headed upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian packed his schoolbooks in the suitcase with his clean clothes. He decided to just rewear the outfit he had on the next day since he'd only had it on for a couple of hours. He wasn't sure when he'd actually be heading back to Dalton, but he figured he could get things back out if he needed to. He sat at the desk and started stacking up his completed work and putting it into his binder. He put the binder and his laptop in his satchel.

Kurt had already finished packing his school stuff up and walked up and put one leg over Sebastian's lap and sat down facing him. He kissed him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kurt unbuttoned the top two buttons on Sebastian's shirt and started kissing down his neck.

He wrapped his arms around Kurt.

Kurt sat back up and kissed him on the lips and ran his hands through his hair. "I just want you to know that I appreciate how much you care." He wrapped his arms around Sebastian and nuzzled in and just let Sebastian hold him.


	10. Chapter 10

Carole, Kurt, and Sebastian left for McKinley at 10:30. Sue had agreed to meet with them at 11:00. Kurt led the way to Sue's office. Sebastian hadn't been in the classroom portion of the building and he looked around as they walked.

"This school definitely looks more like what I had seen in American movies than Dalton does."

Kurt laughed. "Dalton is the only school I've ever seen that looks like it does. All of the other schools look pretty much like this on the inside."

"In need of some paint and deep cleaning?"

Kurt chuckled.

It didn't take long to get to Sue's office. Kurt knocked and waited for a response. Sue had arranged three seats facing her desk instead of the typical two that were normally there.

"Mrs. Hummel, Kurt, and …"

"My name is Sebastian."

"And Sebastian. What is the reason you have come here today?"

"I no longer wish to be on the travel squad."

"Your reason?"

"The 'home' team's behavior at the away games."

"Be specific."

"Homophobic slurs and insults."

"Ignore them."

"Look, I'm not interested in ignoring them anymore. I am not interested in subjecting myself to anymore bullying that can be easily avoided. There are half a dozen girls who would love to have my spot on the travel team. Give it to one of them."

"I want to ask you a question," Sebastian said.

"So, ask."

"Why did you serve meals at the homeless shelter on Christmas Eve?"

"That's personal."

"Fine. Why do you treat the Cheerios so disrespectfully?"

"Overcoming adversity teaches independence, and hard work builds character."

"Being insulted and screamed at is different than adversity. Adversity is something that happens in life, not something that someone does to you on purpose. That's bullying and belittling and it teaches people to hate themselves. They may work harder, but it's not to better themselves for their own self-improvement – it's to avoid being torn down publicly."

"You're full of yourself, aren't you?"

"No, I've just known adversity my whole life. And yes, it fosters ingenuity and creativity to survive, but it rips people apart on the inside. I'm a survivor. I may be strong, but at what price? How is you tearing your team apart helping them as people? Haven't you ever loved or cared about anyone?"

"My sister."

"Then think of your sister in the position of each and every Cheerio you berate every day. What would she think of you if she saw you during practice? What if I set up a camera and sent her the video? Do you think she'd feel proud to be your sister?"

"Shut up."

"No. You have no control over me. I don't attend this school. I'm an adult. I think your sister would have been proud of you at Christmas. But the way you treat the Cheerios is a disgrace."

"Kurt, honey. Get up on the scale over there," Carole said.

Kurt untied his shoes and took them off. He stood and walked over to the scale and stepped on and adjusted it so it showed his weight.

"Honey, how much weight have you lost?"

Kurt stepped down and went back to his chair and put his shoes back on.

"Kurt?" Sebastian said.

"I've lost 15 pounds."

"Unacceptable," Carole stated emphatically. "That's nearly 10% of his body weight in two months and he wasn't overweight to start with."

"He could lose another 20 before he's underweight," Sue quickly pointed out.

Sebastian retorted, "That's NOT the point. He didn't enjoy a single dessert that he made for the holidays. I watched," Sebastian said. "He baked and cooked for everyone and then stayed in the kitchen and washed dishes to keep anyone from noticing that he hardly ate anything. He's taken to drinking tea with no sweetener and not even drinking orange juice for breakfast. Your methods of berating him and criticizing him are going to kill him and maybe some of the girls. Anorexia kills people."

"I'm not anorexic," Kurt insisted.

"Maybe not yet," Carole said. "But you watch every bite of food that goes into your mouth, and I am as concerned as Sebastian is."

"Kurt is not going to travel with the squad anymore and that's final," Carole said. "We will not allow him to be subjected to more bullying than he gets for just existing in this town. He has a little over four more months before he is through with high school."

"Last year when Dave threatened me, you were on my side. At least I thought you were. You said you could be another pair of eyes and ears in the hallways preventing the bullying. But you bully me and the other girls. I don't want to quit or to be a quitter, but I won't allow this anymore. You may think that what you are doing is 'character building', but it's actually soul killing. We all work really hard and your response is to scream at us. It's taken me about 7 weeks too long to come to my senses, but enough is enough. I will not let you dictate whether or not I am worthy of love or respect or food. My own self-respect is worth more than your approval."

"Kurt will be here for practice tomorrow morning before school. I will be with him to observe. If there is anything besides respectful speech and constructive instruction on how to improve, it will be his last practice," Carole said adamantly. "And I don't just mean respectful toward him – for all of the Cheerios. I know that Sebastian knows nothing about your sister, but I know that he is right. Jean would NOT be proud of the way you belittle the students you are in charge of training."

"You don't know anything about Jean."

"You're wrong. But I won't argue my point. Tomorrow morning's practice will be instructional and respectful or Kurt will no longer participate." Carole stood.

Sebastian stood and offered Kurt his hand as he stood. Once Kurt had taken it, Sebastian intertwined their fingers and followed Carole out the door and into the hallway. She walked back out the building the way they had come in with Sebastian and Kurt continuing to walk behind her. They got to the car before anyone said anything.

"Do you want to go back home or grab your bag and go to class?" Carole asked Kurt.

"How about we go have lunch and I'll come back for the last couple of periods and then Glee. That way Sebastian can get back before Warblers rehearsal as well. I know how hard it is for them to practice without a lead singer and I know exactly who is there just chomping at the bit to prove that he can be a better leader than Sebastian."

"Alright, honey. Let's grab something on the way home."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt followed Sebastian up to their room after they got home. He shut the door behind him.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian. "I don't want you to go."

He hugged Kurt. "I don't want to go, but you know I have to."

"I know."

"One more kiss before I go?"

"Of course."

They kissed, deeply and passionately and full of emotion.

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. I'll call you when Warblers rehearsal is over. Walk with me downstairs?"

"Of course." Kurt picked up Sebastian's satchel and carried it for him out to the car.

Sebastian put his suitcase in and then took the satchel from Kurt and put it in as well. He wrapped his arms around Kurt and hugged him tight. "I love you. I'll be back Friday."

Kurt held on. "I love you too." He let go and let Sebastian get in the car. He waved as he drove off, and then walked back up to the house. He opened the door and Carole was waiting for him inside in the living room.

"He's a keeper, honey."

Kurt plopped down next to her on the couch. "I know. I wish McKinley wasn't awful or Dalton didn't cost a fortune. I wish he didn't have to leave."

"I know. Sometimes I miss your dad so much it hurts."

"I didn't even consider how much Dad would be gone when he ran in the election in the fall."

"The whole thing was really unplanned. He ran to stop Sue from tearing arts programs apart, which wasn't really within her realm to do if she won, but she would be a terrible representative. And Reggie was willing to out a high school student just to make Sue look bad. To make her look bad, all he had to do was to pay Jacob to secretly video one of her practices berating the Cheerios. Burt ran because the other options were scary bad."

"Congress needs more regular people like Dad. People who've built businesses or kept family businesses alive. People who know what it's like to choose whatever meat is on sale that week and whichever brand of vegetables is the cheapest. People who've struggled to make ends meet in the aftermath of massive medical bills. But that means that those people leave the people they love behind to do it. And that's hard."

"I know."

"I better grab my coat and my bag and get going. Thanks for going with me today."

"You're welcome, honey. I'll see you later."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went to his last two classes and then to Glee. He walked in and took a seat in the back next to Sam. Mr. Schue arrived a couple of minutes after the bell.

"So, this afternoon we will work on 'I Can Fly', which we will do again on Thursday. Wednesday and Friday we will work on 'You Are Loved', which means that the girls will not need to stay. The girls are still working with Sue on Mondays before school. I've reserved the auditorium for us to work on our choreography in there. Let's head that way."

Everyone picked up their bags and headed to the auditorium. They spent the hour going through some options for choreography and worked through them with a recording of the song.

"We'll keep working on this on Thursday. Hopefully by next week, we'll add in the vocals. I want us to be a well-oiled machine in 6 weeks. Good job today."

Sam followed Kurt out. "We're heading to the shop, right?"

"Yep, unless you have a big project or something you need to go home and work on."

"Nope. I'm good to go."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt texted Sebastian before he had a chance to call and told him that he'd call at 7:30. He and Sam did what needed done at the shop and headed home at 7:00. They sat down to dinner as soon as they walked in the door.

Kurt and Sam cleared the table and did the dishes. Sam was unusually quiet.

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine. Just thinking about a lot of stuff. I'm going to work on my homework and get to bed early. I stayed up too much this past weekend and I'm going to go to Kentucky this coming weekend. I'm going to leave right after the game, so I want to get enough sleep all week so I won't be too tired to drive Friday evening."

"Okay. Maybe we can watch a movie some time this week if you're not busy every evening. I miss spending time with you. The Glee guys were here all weekend before last and then you were gone this whole past weekend."

"You had Sebastian here."

"I know. But I still miss doing things with you."

"I'll let you know about the movie." Sam hung up the towel he'd been drying dishes with and went upstairs.

Kurt put the soap in and started the dishwasher and finished wiping down the dining table and the countertops and headed upstairs as well.

He called Sebastian at 7:30 like he said he would. They talked for a half hour. Kurt did his homework for a couple of hours, showered, talked to Sebastian again, and went to bed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was disappointed to get a text delaying their phone call, but he made the most of his time by working on his schoolwork. He went to dinner at 6:30 and did calculus problems until Kurt called. He scurried to the tutoring session he had at 8:00 and made it just in time. He went back to his room, showered, got in bed to do more reading and waited until 10:00 to call Kurt and talk before they went to bed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Carole followed Kurt to school. She parked in the visitor's lot and they walked to the gymnasium door and went inside. She went up about 10 rows in the bleachers and sat down. Kurt dropped his bag on the first row of bleachers and headed out to the floor to start his stretching.

Sue never showed up. Santana ran practice and was every bit as acerbic as Coach Sue usually was. Carole left after they finished practicing.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Thursday was basically the same as Wednesday for Kurt. Sue didn't show up. He went to class, went to Glee rehearsal, worked at the shop with Sam, did his homework, and talked to Sebastian. Sam never did have time to watch a movie.

Friday afternoon, Kurt waited for Sebastian at the shop. He got there about 4:45. He moved his suitcase and satchel to the Navigator when he arrived.

Kurt saw him come in the door and followed him to the lounge and into the changing area. He made sure no one else was in the room, stepped close without touching him, and kissed him.

"Mmm. Not an extended dream or hallucination on my part," Sebastian said.

"Definitely not. I'm glad you're here. Go crunch numbers. I have to go home at 6:00 and get ready for the game. I'll bring you a sandwich when I pick you up at 7:00." He gave him another quick kiss and headed back out to the bays and went back to work.

Sam took the car and left at 6:00 when Kurt did. Kurt saw Sam carry his duffle down to the car before he came into the kitchen to eat. Kurt put a plate of food on the island for him and sat down to eat a little before he left to go to Sebastian. He had packed food for Sebastian already.

Sam plopped down on the stool and started eating. "Thanks," he said between bites.

"You're welcome. I quit the travel team, but I'll still come to the games to cheer you on – just from the stands in regular clothes."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. I told you I'd cheer for you. I'm not going back on my word."

"I'm heading out as soon as the game is over. I should get to my parents' place by 11:30 or so."

"Well, I hope you have a good time. Tell everyone hello from me. Once it turns a little warmer, we could go down and camp out in the yard. We still have our tent from when Dad and I used to go camping."

"Stevie and Stacey would like that."

Kurt got up and put his plate in the dishwasher and grabbed the food he'd packed for Sebastian. "I'll see you at the game."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian stopped and got a pizza on the way home. Kurt grabbed some drinks and headed up to their room with them. He was excited to see Kurt eat two slices of pizza, but kept his excitement to himself not wanting to make Kurt feel like he was being scrutinized. Kurt took the leftover pizza and put it in the fridge and tossed the box while Sebastian unpacked his stuff.

He went back upstairs to find that Sebastian had started some music and had turned all of the lights off except the nightlight by the bed. He shut and locked the door.

"I didn't want to assume, but I waited in case you would say 'yes'. Will you shower with me? Then I thought maybe we could dance for a bit of your not too tired. Or we can dance first, shower, and then get in bed. And if the answer is 'no' we can still dance and then shower separately."

"Yes. Definitely yes. Let's dance first, then shower, then get in bed." Kurt stepped into Sebastian's arms and they swayed around the room for a few songs.

"Did you have any plans?"

"Lots of snuggling and kissing."

"Well, I do like snuggling and kissing." He started kissing Kurt's neck.

"Oh, that feels good," Kurt said as Sebastian continued to kiss his neck. "Mostly I just really missed you being here. Just little things like eating with you and talking. I wish McKinley wasn't so awful. You could have just transferred there and not had so much driving to do, but that's not how things are. But you're here now and we can enjoy being together."

They danced around a little while longer and then headed off to the shower.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Saturday morning they got up early and worked on their homework for a bit. After eating a quick breakfast, they headed to the shop at 8:00 to work for four hours. They headed back to the house to shower and change. Kurt packed an overnight bag while Sebastian made them quick sandwiches, and they headed out of town.

"This will be fun. It's our first mini-vacation. We got a good deal on the room and we can look around this afternoon and enjoy ourselves. I'm actually thinking of just doing the lessons twice a month. I've learned a lot, but it's a lot of driving."

"I've never been on any type of vacation with anyone. We went to the museum Sunday and that was fun, so I'm sure we'll have a great time." Sebastian pulled his phone out and started mapping their tour of the Cincinnati area. They talked all the way there.

They drove around the university area and stopped at a few apartment complexes and looked around. They picked up an apartment guide and a newspaper. They even stopped by the student center and checked out the places that advertised at the university.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt opened the hotel room door and let Sebastian walk in.

He put their overnight bag on the dresser and looked around. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"We're going out."

"We've been out all day."

"Out on a date. I just wanted to check in before it got too late. I didn't want to lose our reservation." Kurt walked over to where Sebastian was standing. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, much better than okay. Just one of those mini dazed out moments where I have to double-check that this is real."

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian. "It's real. My incredibly handsome boyfriend and I are on are first overnight trip together and we're going to go out to dinner." He kissed Sebastian, who responded eagerly and wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"Alright, then. Let's go out to dinner."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I have no idea what any of this is. I've never eaten Vietnamese food before."

"Me either," Kurt said. "That's the fun of it. We'll explore together." Kurt ran his thumb along Sebastian's index finger as they stood in line to order. The two had been holding hands most of the day.

When they got to the front of the line, they each ordered something that looked good from the picture board menu they had been studying. They took the number they were given and found a table. They took their coats off and put them over their chairs and sat down. Kurt put his hand out on the table and Sebastian took it.

They talked about some of the apartments they'd seen and in less than 10 minutes their food was brought to their table. They thanked the server. They tried their own dishes and they both like what they had ordered.

Kurt took a forkful of his and offered it to Sebastian, who took the fork and ate the bite.

"Yours is spicier than mine. Here try mine." Sebastian used Kurt's fork and handed him a bite.

"Yours is more savory, but I like both of them. What about you?"

"Me too."

They started talking about renting an apartment again.

"I think our biggest expense besides the deposit is going to be a bed. We can always work and save up for a couch, but we have to have somewhere to sleep."

"We could go to Ikea and look. There's one not that far from Jungle Jim's. Ooh. I hadn't thought about that. When we move here, we can shop there for our groceries."

Kurt smiled. "You just want to buy all of that French cheese."

"Maybe…"

"We'll go look at Ikea and stop by Jungle Jim's."

They finished their meals. Sebastian was thrilled to see Kurt eat a reasonable amount of food and enjoying it instead of picking at it like he had been. Maybe it was more stress about what was going on than it was an actual intent to starve himself, at least Sebastian hoped so.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"This is so cool. I didn't realize that it would be like a showroom maze. I think I want one of everything," Kurt laughed. He sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him.

"Well, I think we will have to narrow it down a bit." Sebastian laughed. "Let's keep going or we'll be halfway through the store when it closes. This is just a browsing trip. I'm sure they have print catalogs we can take with us."

"Maybe Dad will let us bring our bed from home."

"I like that idea. That's my favorite bed ever."

Sebastian reached out for Kurt pulled him to standing. Kurt hadn't seen anyone near the area they were in and pulled him close enough to give him a quick kiss. "Let's keep looking, like you said." He kept hold of Sebastian's hand and they wandered through the rest of the "rooms". They didn't stop and do a lot of looking through the areas where the products were shelved and made their way toward the exit. Kurt grabbed a catalog on the way out.

"So, on to Jungle Jim's?" Kurt asked.

"We can do whatever else you had planned for our date. I don't want to ruin anything. I've never dated anyone before, but I didn't think grocery shopping was on the Top Ten Date Destinations list."

Kurt laughed. "Maybe not, but my idea of dating is doing things together and having fun. We don't have to do what anyone else would do on a date. I just want to spend time with you. I don't need you to plan expensive complicated dates. Just the fact that you want to spend time with me means a lot to me."

"I know nothing about American dating, and virtually nothing about dating in general."

"Well, to me, it's just doing things together we both already know we like to do, or exploring things we've never done and finding out whether we like them. Like dinner tonight – it wasn't anymore expensive than getting a pizza or something, but it was totally different and new and fun. I've always wanted a friend that would be open to going to unusual places and trying new things. Even if I had not liked the food, I would have still liked going with you."

"That makes me less nervous. I guess I've just seen movies where there so much pressure on planning the perfect dates. I shouldn't base reality on a movie, of course, but I'm in the dark."

"Well, I think maybe it's because most of those movies are based on girls. And on top of that, girls that play mind games. Like they don't tell their boyfriends what they want, but when they don't get it, they get upset. I'm not sure if that's a girl thing or a movie thing or what. But I'm not like that. If I want something specific, I'd say so. You can even verify that with my dad. If I wanted something specific for my birthday, I would supply him with the exact details he needed to get it for me. I always gave him a lot more options that I expected to get, so he could choose between them."

"So, if I planned something, you'd just do it?"

"Sure, why not? I can't know if I'd like it, if I don't try. I mean, there might be some limits to that. I'm pretty positive that I won't like skydiving, so don't plan a skydiving date."

Sebastian laughed.

"I'm not a girl and you're not a girl. So, I don't think a lot of those dating movies apply – unless you're secretly wanting me to buy you jewelry, stuffed animals, and boxes of chocolates."

"I'm not expecting anything. I guess that's not true. I'm expecting us to only see each other."

Kurt pulled into a parking spot and turned the Navigator off. He took his seat belt off and leaned over the console in the center. "Come closer."

Sebastian took his seat belt off and moved so Kurt could reach him.

"I'm a monogamous person. I love you and only you. I'm not going to run around on you." He kissed Sebastian.

"I love you too."

Kurt ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "Let's go buy some French cheese. It's cold enough outside that we can leave it in the back overnight and it will be fine." He opened his door and got out. Once he heard Sebastian's door shut, he pressed the lock on his remote. He waited at the end of the Navigator for Sebastian and reached out for Sebastian's hand, which he quickly took.

They didn't tour the whole store again since it was getting late. Sebastian picked out some cheese and they bought a couple of drinks to have later and a few snacks for Sebastian to take back to school with him. They headed back to the hotel after they finished shopping.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt hung his coat up on the rack behind the door as soon as he flipped the additional door lock on the back of the door. Sebastian was standing there waiting for him to finish and wrapped his arms around Kurt.

Kurt was surprised at his ease about physical contact with Sebastian. There was just such a difference. Even though he hated it when the comparisons popped up in his mind, they did anyway. At this point in his previous relationship, he was barely comfortable holding hands, but with Sebastian he had been willing to get in the shower naked the same weekend they started dating. And that's exactly where he wanted to head right that minute. And he wanted Sebastian to touch him. He wanted to touch Sebastian, not just wash each other's hair.

"What's going on in that mind of yours?" Sebastian asked.

"What makes you think something's going on in my mind?"

"Because you're you."

"You know me so well already. That's sort of what I was thinking about."

"What do you mean? Wait, before you answer that, is there a way to turn the heat up in here? We didn't bring warm pajamas. It's chilly in here."

Kurt stepped out of his embrace and walked over the heat/ac unit under the window and turned the heat up. "There. It should warm up in here now."

Sebastian had followed him across the room and wrapped him back in his arms. "Now you can explain your answer, something about you thinking about how well I know you…"

"That, and how much I trust you – and it's kind of scary."

"Why is it scary for you?"

"I've never opened up to anyone like this and I know you haven't either. I know you said that it's up to us how fast or slow we take things. We're adults and can decide for ourselves. It's hard to gauge the difference between making a rational choice and what I really want to do. Maybe what I want to do is rational, but it's not something I've ever really had that much of a desire to do."

"You're being a little too vague for me to follow. I'm lost."

"I want to do things with you that I've never wanted to do with anyone before and it's throwing me off balance for lack of a better way to describe it."

"Things such as? Obviously not skydiving," he teased and kissed Kurt on the neck.

"No, not skydiving. More along the lines of," he whispered in Sebastian's ear.

"Oh. Really?"

"But is it too soon? It feels so unusual to let myself think about something like that and even more unusual to actually consider doing it."

"Well, if that's your round about way of asking me, my answer would be 'yes.'"

"Yes, it's too soon?"

"Yes, I want to - if you're offering. But I will also wait until you're ready."

"I think it's back to the struggle of hearing that what I want is wrong and disgusting and evil and sinful… Hearing that doesn't change what I want, but it makes me feel like I shouldn't."

"Well, I didn't grow up having those types of things said to me, but just a few months of being shamed by my Father gave me just enough of a taste of it to know the slightest bit about how it feels and from what you've implied about what's been said to you, it's far worse than the things that were said to me. But that's over now for me, and I know that your torment hasn't stopped. But I want you to listen to me again. You get to choose who you love and how. Not other people."

"I know. And I love you. Please don't ever think these freak-outs I have are about whether I love you."

"Would it help you to know that I've been thinking about what you whispered in my ear for the last few days?"

"Really?"

"Absolutely." He kissed Kurt. "To be completely honest, I've thought about it for more than just the past few days, but I've only allowed myself to indulge my thoughts the past few days." He pursed his lips and took a deep breath, not knowing how Kurt would react to his confession.

A flash of realization could be seen in Kurt's eyes. Sebastian wasn't just saying he thought Kurt was attractive because it was something he thought Kurt wanted to hear. "You actually find me attractive."

"Yeah? I thought I had made that pretty clear by now."

"I guess it's just now dawning on me that you actually mean it. It's so out of my realm of real life experiences that I think I chalked up your early flirty behavior as part of your public persona – the prickly one or the charming/flirty one. You know the one that wolf-whistled Sam and teased about the 'taking it off part' being more fun."

"I see. Well, that was all in fun. I may have hidden how I felt behind a teasing exterior because I felt like you were a million miles out of my league, but I thought you were gorgeous the day we met. My opinion hasn't changed."

Kurt flushed. The different times that Sebastian had said flirty things that he could remember started popping up in his mind. Sebastian had found him attractive all that time?

"Now what's going on in that mind of yours?"

"Just processing things." He released the hold he had on Sebastian and moved his hands in between them and started unbuttoning Sebastian's cardigan, then his shirt. Once he finished the placket, he unbuttoned the sleeves and eased them both off of his shoulders. He shut out the voices in his head that told him that what he wanted was wrong and focused on how he felt and what his own heart told him. He laid the sweater and shirt on the chair behind him. He ran his hands across Sebastian's shoulders and down his arms causing Sebastian to shiver a bit. His eyes were closed obviously enjoying the attention that Kurt was lavishing on him. Kurt moved his hands to Sebastian's chest and splayed his fingers and gently ran his hands all over his chest.

Sebastian reached forward and slipped Kurt's jacket off his shoulders and hung it on the back of the chair and moved back in front of Kurt and started to unbutton his vest and his shirt. He walked behind him and took the vest and laid it neatly in the chair, and then reached around him and unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off his shoulders placing gentle kisses on the back of his neck. He put the shirt in the chair and turned back to face Kurt again. He lifted Kurt's undershirt and Kurt raised his arms so that Sebastian could pull it off.

"All the layers don't bother you?"

Sebastian ran his hands down Kurt's arms and kissed his shoulders. "You're like one of those really expensive gifts from a fancy store, all wrapped up with a fancy bow. You take off the bow, then the wrapping paper, and open the box. And the gift is wrapped in beautiful paper on the inside."

Kurt melted at the comparison. He turned and faced Sebastian and held his face in his hands. "And you are a romantic sweetheart who makes me feel really special. You are that hidden gem at a flea market. So many people walk by and don't bother to look, but you're every bit as valuable and beautiful as the shiny pieces in the fancy stores. You just needed polished a bit so your beauty wasn't hidden under years of gunk. You said you thought I was out of your league, but that's not true at all. You are amazing and strong and beautiful. I love you." Kurt stepped forward and pressed into Sebastian and tipped his head and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around him. The kiss was intense and full of love and understanding, like the culmination of them both doing their best to let go of those insecurities and the realization that they were choosing to move forward together.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt and let the rest of his walls down. Kurt didn't love him out of some sense of pity. He thought he was beautiful and his equal. He had finally gotten what he had longed for. He had no intention of ever letting go. When they pulled a part to catch their breath, Sebastian kissed along Kurt's jaw toward his ear. "I love you."

"Can I?" Kurt asked, putting his hand on Sebastian's belt.

Sebastian nodded, still placing gentle kisses on Kurt's jaw and neck. He stopped long enough to move over to the bed to unlace his boots and take them off. Kurt sat down next to him and did the same. Kurt started to undress himself the rest of the way and Sebastian followed his lead. Kurt folded the covers back on the bed and lay down.

Sebastian crawled over and straddled Kurt and put his weight on his forearms and started kissing him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They lay in each other's arms kissing gently and enjoying the comfort of the other.

Kurt broke the silence. "I've come up with my pet name for you."

Sebastian waited.

He ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "_Mon précieux joyau caché." _Kurt kissed him_. "Je t'aime, mon joyau_."

Sebastian kissed Kurt. _"Je t'aime, mon étoile."_

"We are in need of a shower. We are a sticky mess." Kurt smiled. "Sated, sticky messes, but still," he laughed.

They got up and headed to the shower. Sebastian started the water to warm it up, while Kurt grabbed their stuff from the toiletries bag. Sebastian grabbed a couple of washcloths and climbed into the shower with Kurt following right behind him.

"This time I wash you and you wash me?" Kurt asked.

They took their time and enjoyed the increased intimacy of touching each other.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Back in the bed, they lay limbs all intertwined.

"I like this." Kurt ran his hand down Sebastian's side, down his hip and onto his thigh.

"Mmm. You think we can get away with it at home?"

"Sure. We already sleep with the bedroom door locked. We can just put two pairs of pajama pants on the edge of the dresser by the door and if we have to open the door before we were planning to, the pants will be ready to be slipped on."

"Good plan."

"And since we do our own laundry, no one will ever notice that we hardly wear our pajamas."

"Mmm." Sebastian caressed the side of Kurt's face and gently kissed him. "I am about to fall asleep. I love you, mon étoile."

"I love you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt awoke at his usual time and tried to keep still and let Sebastian sleep longer, but he woke up.

"_It's still dark out. What time is it?"_

"_Around 6:00 I'm sure. I didn't mean to wake you up."_

"_It's alright_." Sebastian pulled Kurt closer. "_We'll just snuggle for a little while before we get up."_ He had a relaxed smile on his face.

"_You're happy this morning."_

"_Why wouldn't I be? We're here together. There's no place I'd rather be."_

"_Me either."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got ready, repacked their bag, put their coats on, and headed down to the free breakfast at the hotel. Kurt took eggs, turkey sausage, and orange juice. Sebastian opted for a waffle that he could make the big cast iron waffle maker. He slathered it with butter and syrup and had sausage to go with it. He offered Kurt a bite and he took it.

"That's pretty good."

"Do you still want to go to New York?"

"I do. Is that a problem?"

"No. I just wondered. That was where you wanted to go to school. I just wondered if that's where you want to live."

"I can't honestly say that it's where I want to stay forever. It's just that I've always dreamed of performing and Broadway always seemed like the pinnacle of success for a stage performer. I've only ever been there once and that was just for a few days last May when we went to Nationals. But Rachel and I snuck into the Gershwin Theater and sang 'For Good' on the stage with one of the _Wicked_ backdrops and even thought the audience was empty, it was just a magical feeling being there. It could be the same performing somewhere else. I guess I'll just have to see how things go."

"I never allowed myself to dream like that. I kept my aspirations very basic. It's only been recently that I've been thinking more about what I'd consider to be possibilities or dreams."

"Well, you have time. We both do. And we have each other now." Kurt squeezed his hand.

They finished up and cleared their places off. Kurt checked them out of the hotel and they headed out to the parking lot, hand in hand.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After his lessons were over, they drove around Cincinnati again, checking areas out and just looking around. Kurt pulled into a Wendy's and they went in for lunch before they headed back to Lima.

"What's a Frosty?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh, it's like halfway between chocolate ice cream and a chocolate shake, served in a drink cup with a spoon. Sort of like soft-serve chocolate ice cream."

"Sounds good."

Kurt ordered a taco salad and Sebastian went for a burger with fries and a Frosty. They didn't have to wait too long before their food was on trays ready to be taken to a table. They grabbed napkins and sat down and started to eat.

"The food here isn't horrible."

"Most fast food places aren't horrible. If they were, no one would eat there. I forget that you haven't eaten at any of these places. We'll make it our mission for you to try the most popular places at least once."

"You don't usually eat at places like this."

"I don't, but I can order salads at most of them nowadays. It will be a fun thing to do with you. Going to these places in Lima is never fun. The jock crowd tends to hang out in the fast food places and I get harassed. But we can try one each time we go out of town to do something fun together. Plus, we can try things like the Vietnamese place we went last night."

Sebastian put a spoonful of the Frosty in his mouth.

"So, what do you think?"

"I like it." He offered Kurt a bite and he took it.

They finished eating and headed back to Lima. Unfortunately, they both still homework to do, so they couldn't stay in Cincinnati all afternoon.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian did as he had said he would and stayed with Kurt Sunday night and left when Kurt got up at 6:00. They hugged and kissed and Sebastian set off for Dalton. He made it to school on time. He thought about their trip to Cincinnati and the plans they were making together and kept having to refocus himself during class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam rode to school with Kurt.

"Did you have a good time visiting your family this weekend?"

"Yeah, yeah. We just mostly hung around the house and I played with Stevie and Stacey. I took them to the library and checked out some books Saturday morning. Stacey likes to show off how well she can read by reading princess books to me."

"She's a cutie."

"Honestly, I just glad neither one of them have dyslexia like me."

"You haven't been doing your schoolwork with me anymore. Did I do something to upset you? We had been spending quite a bit of time together and then the last couple of weeks, you've been avoiding me."

"I've been avoiding a lot of things. I just feel pretty lost. I didn't want to spend another year in high school and I got my wish, but I honestly don't have a clue what I want to do next."

"We'll, if you don't want to go to college, you could work on the ASE certifications and get a raise and be able to do more work on your own at the shop. And if being a mechanic doesn't interest you, maybe there are other things that you could just train to do rather than going to college for four years."

"I need to figure some things out. That's for sure."

"Well, while you're figuring it out, don't forget about me, okay?"

"Okay."

"Sebastian's not all 'stay away from other guys'. He's not going to be bothered by us doing things together. We were doing things all three of us, and then you started hanging out with Finn more, which is okay if that's what you want. But I do miss spending time with you."

Kurt pulled into a spot in the parking lot. Sam jumped out. "I'll see you later."

Kurt opened the back and got his satchel out and made is his way into the school.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Glee was strange that afternoon because Mr. Schue announced that was going to ask Miss Pillsbury to marry him and he wanted the members of the group to make love song suggestions for him to use for the proposal. A lot of the members got really excited about the project, but Kurt didn't make any suggestions, despite the fact that it would have given him the opportunity to get up and sing in front of everyone. A few people sang potential songs that day, but they were going to continue with the topic.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

By Tuesday, Mr. Schue had been presented with numerous options. He decided to go with singing "We Found Love" as a synchronized swimming routine in the school pool. And before he even had time to put up his hand to ask, Mr. Schue stated that participation was mandatory.

Kurt waited for everyone to leave the room after rehearsal.

"Is there something you need, Kurt?"

"I don't see how you can make spending 6-9 hours in the school pool mandatory for a non-school related event. I understand that you want to wow Miss Pillsbury, but I am personally opposed to this type of proposal, and on top of that I have a job after Glee and I can't skip work since I'm the afternoon manager now that my dad is in DC. I'm sorry. This class isn't for credit. It's a club. One I enjoy being in, but I won't be at swimming practice. I'll be at the shop."

"Kurt…"

"There is nothing else to discuss. You can kick me out if you want. But you cannot require me to spend extra hours afterschool with no advance warning. I have to go or I'm going to be late." Kurt turned and walked toward the door.

"You'd risk performing your solo and not being in the club over this?"

"That's not really a question is it? Are you actually asking me if loyalty to my father and my job is more important than a school club?" He walked out the door.

Sam was waiting in the Navigator. They headed for the shop.

"I wasn't thinking. Sorry."

"What?"

"The pool idea was mine. Back before that guy dropped out of basketball, I had considered joining the synchronized swimming team because it was the only varsity sport that still had openings. I went to watch a couple of practices and it was really cool to watch. I thought it would impress Miss P."

"It's fine. I just can't miss work three days in a row to practice swimming. If he kicks me out over this, then so be it. I want to perform, yes. But honestly, the constant drama of his love life is annoying and mostly inappropriate. But, be assured that if he kicks me out, I won't blame you."

"Alright. Is there any way I can get off the next three afternoons?"

"Sure. But you won't get paid."

"I know."

"You'll need someone else to take you home after rehearsals because I'll be here." Kurt pulled into the employee parking section and got out.

He put his coveralls on quickly and got to work on the first car on his list.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian's Tuesday review of his weekly agenda had him flipping to the next month to take a look forward and he realized that it was exactly two weeks until Valentine's Day. He had seen enough American movies to realize that it was a big deal. He spent the day trying to stay focused, but his mind wandered.

In Warbler's rehearsal, he asked to be allowed to speak.

"I'd like to propose that we don't hold rehearsal on Valentine's Day in two weeks. I know that many of the guys in this group are dating, which means that they need time to prepare for the evening."

"All in favor of Sebastian's idea to not have rehearsal on Valentine's Day…" David counted. "Motion passed."

They moved on to working on "Stand" for the rest of rehearsal.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Wednesday marked the fifth practice in a row that Coach Sue did not show up to run. Kurt got dressed after practice and went to class as usual. At lunchtime, he headed to her office. He knocked and he heard a noise he assumed was his cue to enter. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see if you were okay. You haven't come to practice in five days."

"I'm fine. Get out."

"Alright. I'll bring the uniforms back tomorrow." He pulled the door shut behind him and walked away.

After school, headed straight to the shop and put in an extra hour.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Thursday morning, Kurt didn't attend Cheerios practice and spent the extra hour he had that morning getting schoolwork done. He put both of his uniforms into the Cheerios backpack and took them to school with him. At lunchtime, he went to Coach Sue's office again. He knocked and waited to be acknowledged. He opened the door and went inside. He placed the backpack on one of the chairs facing Coach Sue's desk and turned to walk out.

"Kurt, have a seat."

"Yes, Coach." He turned back and sat in the empty chair.

"I don't want you to quit the team."

"I have no interest in the Jekyll and Hyde thing you've got going on, Coach Sue. Obviously you are a deeply committed to winning, yet you haven't shown up to run practice in a week. I honestly thought you had changed to some extent. But this two-faced behavior is too much for me to deal with. I'm not sure why the girls put up with it, other than they see getting a recommendation from you as their only way out of this cow town. I already got into college. I'm leaving because I am not wanted in this town. I don't need whatever scraps of approval I might get from you because I have a family that loves me. But some of those girls don't. They come here every morning. They do exactly what you say, but because they quiver a bit or they don't execute a move perfectly, you scream at them. No more. I'm not going to be a part of something that makes girls think they're worthless if they aren't perfect. Perfection is a myth."

"He's been to every home game and some of the away games."

"Who?"

"Sebastian."

"Yes. He comes to watch and cheer for Sam. We'll still attend the rest of the games, as will my parents if they aren't working."

"We've already been practicing our Regionals piece."

"I'm aware."

"I have no one to take your place."

"Rechoreograph my part out. If I broke my leg, you'd have to."

"What would make you stay?"

"I told you already. Lead the Cheerios to victory. Be a leader, not a soul-crushing tyrant that terrifies people into performing under duress."

"Not mincing words, I see."

"Waste of time."

"You stood up to Schuester as well."

"I did. He may kick me out too. I haven't heard yet. I don't have to invite difficulty into my life. It's there every day when I try to live a normal life." Kurt stood. "I'm going to go eat before lunch ends."

Kurt got to the cafeteria and found that none of the New Directions were there. He walked back out and went to his SUV. He texted Sebastian a single line – "I miss you."

Kurt attended his afternoon classes and headed straight to the shop again. He worked until closing and headed home. When he got there, no one was home. He grabbed up his laundry and got it all done, while making and eating dinner since he didn't know where anyone else was. He finished up the rest of his homework for the week, barring a new assignment being given out the next day. He read for a while and eventually called Sebastian and they talked for a while before he went to bed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday morning, Kurt spent the time he would have normally used for last minute schoolwork or attending some sort of before-school rehearsal to bake cookies for Sebastian. He cut the recipe in half and packed up the whole batch and took them to his room and hid them in his dresser drawer. By the time Finn and Sam came downstairs claiming they could smell cookies, all they found was Kurt cooking eggs.

"Good morning," he said as he plated his eggs and washed the skillet quickly and left it in the drain to dry while he ate at the island.

"Where are the cookies?" Finn said.

"No cookies. There's cereal or you can cook for yourself. Where's Carole?"

"Oh, Mom left yesterday to go to DC."

"I didn't know she was leaving. When is she coming back?"

"Um, Monday I think. Or maybe it was Tuesday. I don't remember. She left money to order pizza once and Chinese once and said to make Chili. So, I guess that means Monday she'll be back," Finn said.

"And your plans?" Kurt asked.

"Video gaming marathon starting tonight after the game."

"And lasting until?"

"Sunday night."

"Good to know." Kurt put his plate and fork in the dishwasher and headed back upstairs. He grabbed what he needed for school and headed out, even though it was still a little early.

He got to school, put what he didn't need for the morning in his locker, and went to peek in the gym. Coach Sue was there, yelling as usual. Kurt headed to his first period classroom and sat in his seat reading ahead until class started.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian packed for the weekend and put everything, including his coat, in the car before he headed to class Friday morning. Since he was going to stay until Monday mornings, he decided he would just drive in his uniform and wash it while he was home and rewear it Monday on the way back, allowing him to leave 15 minutes earlier than he had when he went back to change before he left.

As soon as the last bell rang, he left the building, jogged to his car, and headed to the shop. He found that leaving even those few minutes earlier really cut down on the traffic he got on the interstate near Columbus and he made good time and arrived at the shop at 4:30. He quickly moved his stuff from the car to the Navigator and headed inside.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was leaning over the engine of a minivan when Sebastian walked into the work bays. Sebastian walked over to him, calling out to him as he got closer. He didn't want to startle him and make him drop or damage anything.

"You're early!"

"I planned more efficiently this time."

"Well, Mr. Efficient, I'm glad to see you. Are you going to change or do the books in your uniform?"

"I'll just work on the books until I get everything done. If I get it all done, I'll change and come out and learn more about fixing cars."

"I'm going to take a 5-minute break and get a drink," Kurt said and winked at Sebastian. He walked to the lounge and Sebastian followed him. "I missed you a lot." Kurt didn't touch him, but he leaned up and kissed him.

"I missed you too." He put his hands on the sides of Kurt's face and kissed him again. "Let's get our work done and go home."

Kurt nodded and went back out to finish the car he had been working on.

Sebastian looked up when Kurt came into the office at 6:30. "I've got about 10 more minutes before I'm done."

"I'll go clean up and change. The game is at 7:00. If you change here, we won't be quite as late."

"Alright. I finish up and go grab my clothes and change."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They were just a few minutes late, but the game hadn't started yet. They found Tina and sat with her. She was surprised to see Kurt.

"Did you get hurt or something? Why aren't you cheering?"

"I quit."

"Oh. Did you quit Glee too?"

"No. But I'm not sure I'm still a member. Mr. Schue never said one way or the other. I guess I'll find out Tuesday when I try to go to rehearsal."

"I guess."

"Are the girls have a spa weekend?"

"Not the whole weekend. Just tomorrow evening and Sunday morning."

"Ah, the guys are having an entire weekend starting tonight until Sunday night."

Sam scored and all three of them stood up and cheered.

They started paying more attention to the game and quit talking. The hardest part for Kurt was watching the half-time show where he was supposed to be featured and Santana was singing his song. One of the other Cheerios had replaced her and was dancing and singing back up with Brittany.

The game finally ended, after a second half that seemed to be three times as long as the first half. They waited for Sam to come out of the locker room.

"Good game!" Kurt said when he came out.

"Thanks."

"Do you want us to take you to the shop to pick up the car?"

"Nah, I'll just have Mike drop me off to get it on the way to the house. You two can head on out to do whatever you've got planned."

"Alright."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Even though they stopped and picked up a 10-pack of tacos, they managed to get home before anyone else. Kurt parked the Navigator in the grass alongside the driveway since there would be so many cars arriving soon and he wanted to be able to leave without getting a bunch of people to move their cars. He grabbed his satchel and Sebastian's as well. Sebastian grabbed his suitcase and his uniform that he had laid on top of it.

They hung up their coats and took everything upstairs. Kurt grabbed two drinks from the kitchen first. Sebastian unpacked and put the suitcase under the bed.

Kurt sat the bag of tacos and the drinks on the desk and pushed his vanity chair up to the desk. "We're going to eat up here and hibernate."

"Sounds fun. I hardly have any schoolwork this weekend because I was very diligent all week. I only have the extra reading assignment that was given out today in government, some online Library of Congress document I have to look up and read and answer questions about."

"Good because I did all of my homework already and I didn't get any extra assignments today. Let's eat."

Kurt ate four tacos and claimed he couldn't eat the fifth one, but Sebastian persuaded him to split it with him.

"So, we're hiding up here all weekend because the Glee Guys are hanging out here all weekend again?"

"Yep. And Carole's gone. I'm not going to get blamed for their shenanigans and all of the missing food. They'll probably spend all of the money she left on pizzas tonight and then raid the house for food all day tomorrow."

"How many people come here when they come? I've never gone down to see."

Kurt counted. "Maybe 7, if everyone comes."

"That's a lot of food."

"It is. But I paid for this and kept the receipt. Not that I want reimbursed, but I'm just proving a point. I mean this way I can prove that we ate, even though they didn't order us anything."

"When did you get the TV?"

"TV?"

"It's in front of your dresser on the floor in a box."

"Oh, I didn't even see it yet. I had our bags, the food, and the drinks in my hand and I walked straight over here."

"There's a note on top that says, 'Finn - put this in Kurt's room.'"

"Maybe he was supposed to do it yesterday and didn't."

"I'm texting Carole." Kurt got his phone out and sent her a text. He got a phone call a few minutes later. He talked to her for a few minutes and then hung up.

"She says it's for us because she talked to Dad and he agreed that Finn and all of his 'guy weekends' aren't fair to us never letting us use the TV downstairs. And that it was here on Thursday in the dining room when she left. She told Finn to bring it up, but obviously he didn't until this afternoon."

"Alright then, let's make room for it and get it unpacked and set up."

They moved everything around on the shelves and repositioned several to make room for it. They unboxed it and ran the cord down the small hole in the lowest shelf to plug it underneath in the area that had the doors. The whole process was delayed by the numerous kisses that were exchanged during the set up.

"Oh, good. It has batteries with it to put in the remote." Kurt put them in and started setting it up. "This is really cool. None of our other TVs are 'smart'. We can watch Amazon and Netflix without the TV hooked up to anything."

"That's cool."

Kurt put in the password for the internet and then logged into Amazon first, then Netflix. "Done."

"I'll put the box in the hallway." Sebastian put all of the packing material back into the box and put it out. He locked the door behind him when he came back in. "What would you think of us getting a keyed lock for the door at some point?"

"Why?"

"I guess I'm not all that keen on Finn looking around in here."

"Okay. I'll get one this week and install it."

"So, how about I read whatever this assignment is and you read a book and then we'll shower and we'll have the whole weekend free?"

"Sounds like a good plan." Kurt picked up the trash and tossed it in the trashcan.

Sebastian had already pulled his laptop out to read the text of his government assignment and sat down at the desk. Kurt pulled a book down off the shelf and sat in the chair and read.

Thirty minutes later, Kurt heard Sebastian typing. Fifteen more minutes and he was shutting the laptop down and putting it in his satchel.

Kurt put his book back on the shelf and stood up. He turned the salt lamp on, the other lights off, and walked toward the bathroom and Sebastian followed him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Give me a one minute head start."

Sebastian laughed. "Okay."

Kurt sprinted over to the dresser, pulled out the cookies, put them on Sebastian's pillow, and got in the bed. By then Sebastian came out of the bathroom.

"Time's up."

"Come on."

He walked around to his side of the bed and found the cookies. "You made me cookies?"

"I did. This morning before I went to school."

Sebastian opened the container took one out and popped it into his mouth. He put the lid on and put the container on his side shelf. He chewed and swallowed. "Delicious." He got into bed.

"The other surprise is that I put an extra blanket on the bed this morning, so we wouldn't need pajamas."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Kurt scooted closer and gently moved Sebastian's arm so he could lay his head on Sebastian's shoulder and turn him into a human body pillow.

"Comfy?"

"Yes. Are you?"

"Mmm hmm. I like being your pillow."

"Let's sleep. We'll get up early and make ourselves breakfast while they're all still passed out from staying up all night."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt worked on packing sandwiches with ice packs in a lunchbox while Sebastian cooked them breakfast. He served it on paper plates so they could eat without banging plates around and making noise. Kurt carried the lunchbox up and Sebastian carried their breakfast up on a tray. They made it back upstairs without being spotted.

Kurt sat the lunchbox down on the dresser, shut the door quietly, and locked it. "We made it. You have no idea how many times I've been roped into cooking for all of them."

"They don't invite you, and then expect you to cook for them?"

"Pretty much. That's why I try to not be around."

"So we eat and we get dressed…"

"And then we go back to work."

They both started eating.

"You packed a lunch."

"I did. Not a big one – just a couple of sandwiches. We can either come back here after we finish, or we can go out somewhere for a while before we come back."

"Like where?"

"Well, I don't know. We can talk about it while we work. We can go in as soon as we get dressed. We can get a few hours in before anyone else shows up and we can figure out something fun to do."

They both got dressed.

"Okay. You carry the cooler, put the tray back in the kitchen, quietly grab our coats, and meet me in the garage."

Kurt carried the TV box down and left it in the garage. He was waiting by the door that led out the side of the garage. Sebastian handed him his coat and he put it on. Kurt pressed the alarm code and went out the door and locked it behind them. They got in the Navigator and left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian spent the morning changing tires and doing oil changes once the shop opened. Kurt continued to work on the car that he started on when they had gotten there. By 11:00, they were backed up. Kurt switched from the car to helping change tires. Obviously the snow flurries had made quite a few people decide it was time for new tires. They stayed to help with the tire changes and headed out at 1:00.

They went in the changing room together and switched into their clothes and tossed the coveralls in the hamper.

"Okay, so I thought about it. How about roller skating or bowling?"

"Well, I've never done either."

They laced their boots up and put their coats on.

"Well, we'll do one today and one another weekend. You pick. No one who considers themselves cool goes roller skating, so the likelihood of running into anyone who hates me is pretty slim. And I know a bowling alley that one of my dad's buddies runs, so no one will hassle us there either."

"Let's try the skating."

They ate the sandwiches on the way to the skating rink.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up outside the skating rink. They went inside and rented skates and went out into the rink. Kurt patiently taught Sebastian how to skate and he caught on quickly. Fifteen minutes later, he was skating around the rink on his own.

"This is fun."

"Dad used to bring me here because I liked it and it was a decent place to have some fun. I haven't come often since maybe sixth grade. Junior high kids hang out here because their parents are willing to drop them off and leave them, so I avoided the place for several years."

The music changed and the lights dimmed. Over the PA, the announcer said, "Couples only."

Kurt looked at Sebastian and they skated to the edge of the area only to nearly run right into Quinn and Tina.

"Alright, boys," Quinn said. "One of you needs to skate with me." Quinn took Sebastian's hand and led him back out into the rink. She turned and skated backwards.

Tina took Kurt's hand and he turned and skated backward. "Are you two dating yet?"

"Yes."

"Finally." Tina laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"That poor boy has been pining for you for ages. I kept telling him to tell you, but he insisted that you were too good for him. I told him that he was wrong, but he seemed pretty convinced."

"Well, I asked him two weeks ago."

"Congratulations. He seems really nice. And he's totally hot."

Kurt laughed. "Thanks. I didn't realize that you and Quinn had gotten friendly enough to be out doing things together."

"Well, she's finally feeling like herself again, but a new nicer version of herself. She says it's who she was before she decided that being HBIC was her high school goal. Now, she's focusing on her future, which she doesn't want to be in Lima."

"I completely agree with her on that."

The lights came back up and the music went back to an upbeat dance song. Kurt turned forward and kept skating with Tina.

"We're going to the movies next. Wanna come with us? The two of you can sit next to each other and with us with you, no one will hassle you."

"What are you going to see?"

"_One For the Money_."

"Let's catch up to them and you get Quinn alone and make sure it's okay with her. Then I'll ask Sebastian."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, they were in line at the movie theater.

Kurt said, "Carole says the books are really funny. I've never read any of them."

"Oh, we've both read them and they are funny. We'll see if the movie adaptation is any good," Quinn said.

They each paid for tickets and went through the turnstile. Tina sat next to Kurt and Quinn sat next to Sebastian. When the lights went down, Kurt pushed the armrest between them up and took Sebastian's hand.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Do you guys want to go with us to this cool Greek restaurant we found?" Tina asked.

Kurt looked at Sebastian, who nodded. "Sure. Is it close by? Otherwise, we'll need the name so we can pull up a map."

"Just follow us. It's not far from here."

"Alright."

Kurt and Sebastian got into the Navigator. Kurt leaned toward Sebastian who leaned in and they kissed. "You're okay with this, right? You're enjoying yourself?"

"Sure. I've been sitting with Tina for every home basketball game all season. Quinn seems nice enough."

"I wouldn't tell her any secrets. But she's coming around. She's been through a lot and it's taken a toll on her. She finally seems to be finding a balance in her life – like she's going to be able to move forward and let her past stay in the past."

"Your Glee Club seems to be comprised of a lot of gossips."

"Mostly gossips, I think. Except Sam. I'm not sure that there is anyone else trustworthy in the whole group."

"You."

"Thank you. It looks like we're here. If it's super pricey, we can always say we ate before we went skating and share something. I wasn't actually planning on spending too much on dinner. We can't save if we eat out at pricey places every weekend."

They went inside and waited for a table with the girls. Once they were seated they opened the menu to look at the choices.

"You should definitely try the gyros since you've never been here before," Quinn said. "But don't order two dinners. Unless Sebastian eats like Finn, the two of you should split one. They're huge."

"Thanks for the information. We'll do that. Do you two come here a lot?"

The waitress came quickly and took their order.

"We've been here four or five times. The food is really good and we always split a meal," Tina responded. "Why are you out and about when the Glee Guys are all at your house?"

"I'm not a Glee Guy," Sebastian said.

"Obviously, but Kurt is."

"Nope. Actually, I'm not." His statement was spoken with such finality that neither of the girls asked anything else about it.

"So, how are Regionals rehearsals going for the Warblers?" Tina asked.

"Diligently," Sebastian smirked and winked.

"That's more than I can say for us. I'll be glad when Monday is over," Quinn said. "I'm sick of being in the pool. It's a disaster for my hair. I keep having to condition it. Tina said you quit the Cheerios."

"I did. I'm done being berated and harassed. We'll find out Tuesday whether I'm even still welcome in Glee."

The waitress was back with their food really quickly.

"I'm going to push for a vote from the members," Tina said. "Mr. Schue can't just throw you out because you had a job you had to do."

"I think he can. Whether he will or not remains to be seen. He could just strip me of my solo and give it to someone more 'loyal' and take my featured lines away in the other song, leaving me to sing back up as usual."

"That would be so wrong," Tina said.

Kurt and Sebastian tried their food.

"This really is good," Kurt said. "Being wrong hasn't stopped him before. If he kicks me out, he does. It's not the end of the world. If I work an hour extra each day after work, I'll have a lot more money saved up for when I move at the end of the school year. Even after taxes, being in Glee is costing me about $80 a week."

"That's like over $1000 by the end of the school year," Tina said.

"Yep. And $1000 could go a long way to paying rent during next school year so that I don't have to work so many hours during my first year of college since I am sure it will be a lot more like going to Dalton than it is like going to McKinley. Harder classes and more work. So, if he says I'm out, then I'll just work more."

"Where did you apply? I know Rachel's still all NYADA or bust," Tina said.

"I'm not saying until later in the year. I just don't want to hear why people think I've made the wrong choice. I don't need their approval to do what's right for me."

They continued talking while they ate. Once they were done, they went their separate ways.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"We'll go back in through the garage and see if we can manage to get back upstairs with no one seeing us."

"Why are we sneaking into our own house?"

"Because I'm sure they blew all the money that Carole left for the whole weekend last night and I don't want to be pressured into cooking for everyone. Finn will claim that we're having the Chinese food tomorrow, since Carole said 'pizza, Chinese, and chili' and that I need to make the chili for tonight."

"I see. So, stealth mode. Got it."

Kurt unlocked the garage door and put the security code in quickly and shut the door back. He used the light from his phone to guide them across the garage. They got to the door leading into the house and Sebastian was so close behind him that he started kissing the back of Kurt's neck. Kurt turned in place and kissed him gently. He turned back around and opened the door slowly to peek out and listen. He opened the door and they stepped into the hallway and he closed the door quietly and they headed upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"We made it."

"We did." Kurt locked the door behind him. He walked across the room and put his coat on the back of his vanity chair. Sebastian put his on the desk chair.

"Shower, and then snuggling while we watch a movie? Or shower, and then making out while we listen to music?"

"All of it sounds perfect."


	11. Chapter 11

Sebastian pulled Kurt closer and placed soft kisses on his shoulder. "Are we going back into work today?"

"I hadn't planned on it. I had planned on a nice long snuggle with you. Maybe a full-body massage for the sore muscles I'm sure that we both have after skating yesterday."

"Mmm. I like your plans."

"I thought you might." Kurt brought Sebastian's hand up to his lips and kissed his palm. Then he licked him.

Sebastian moaned. "Oh, God."

Sebastian's response surprised Kurt and emboldened him. He licked the palm of his hand again and this time he licked up Sebastian's index finger and guided it into his mouth.

Sebastian nearly swore in French.

Kurt kept up with the licking and mouthing of Sebastian's finger until Sebastian did start saying something in French that Kurt didn't quite catch as Sebastian scooted back and rolled Kurt over to face him.

"_That is far more sexy than I would have ever imagined."_ And he pulled Kurt into a passionate kiss.

Kurt pushed Sebastian onto his back and decided to try out this new tool on other places. He figured out quickly that there were a lot of French swear words that he didn't know. He teased Sebastian between kisses. "_I'm going to need tutored in French swearing."_

"_Just assume it means_ '_I love the way that feels - don't stop.'"_

"_Sure,"_ Kurt laughed and licked and kissed his way down Sebastian's neck.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian got dressed in pajamas after they got out of the shower.

"We're going to have to contribute to your parents' increased water bill if we keep ending up in the shower twice a day."

Kurt laughed. He wrapped his hands around Sebastian's neck and kissed him. "I love you."

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt. "I love you too."

"Let's get downstairs and get some food before anyone else wakes up."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian pressed the button on the remote continuing to scroll through the options. He finally stopped on one.

"Sure."

"Are we even going to watch?"

Kurt laughed. "I don't know. I think we'll have to put our pajamas or clothes on and lay on top of the covers and even then I make no promises. I have to get a whole week's worth of cuddles and snuggles and kisses in two days."

"Let's try this." Sebastian propped the pillows up and leaned back. He made room for Kurt to sit between his legs and Kurt leaned back on him. Sebastian pulled the covers up in a U shape and covered them both up. He wrapped his arms around Kurt.

Kurt ran his hands along Sebastian's thighs gently. Sebastian ran his fingers along Kurt's chest. They made it through about 15 minutes of the movie before Kurt turned over, straddled Sebastian's lap, and started kissing him again.

"We clearly don't care about the movie," Sebastian said and laughed as he slid down in the bed and pulled Kurt on top of him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Is this normal?" Kurt asked.

Sebastian was curled up in his arms, lying on him like a body pillow. "What?"

"The constant desire to touch you and hold you?"

"I don't know. I like it though. Maybe we're just both really tactile people who never had any outlet for it and now we have each other."

"I can accept that as a reasonable possibility. As long as you're not feeling like this is all I want from you - because it's not. I never really considered this possibility. I was so absolutely controlled with all the layers and practically never even wore short-sleeved shirts. I never expected to feel so at ease in my body with someone."

"Well, I think you are beautiful inside and out. I think it's all new, and nothing is wrong or abnormal or needs to change. As long as we are both wanting this much physical contact, then I think it's fine."

"And you do?"

"Want this much physical contact? I love touching you, so yes."

Kurt ran his hand through Sebastian's hair causing him to nuzzle in tighter.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I think we can do it. If we both work full time this summer, we can have enough money saved up only work 10-15 hours a week during the school year and not have to take out any loans."

"So, we need to look into getting a place in August so we can move before school starts," Sebastian said. He looked through their calculations again. "We can go in before the shop opens and work from 7-4 and still have time to enjoy the day since you get up so early every morning anyway."

"Yep. And if we want a few days off in a row, we can just work longer hours the week before or after based on who wants time off. I want to save up the money we need, but I also want to go on some trips."

"We can start making a list of places that sound fun and then pick a few." Sebastian sat the notebook to his side and wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders and pulled him closer. He kissed him on the top of the head. "I'm the luckiest guy in the whole world."

"I think it's a tie. Are we going to brave the downstairs to try to get some lunch?"

"When is Carole coming back?"

"Tomorrow, from what Finn said."

"Alright, then. Brave face on. Let's head down and forage for our share of whatever food is left."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt found a package of boneless chicken thighs and put them on to boil while he continued to search. He started a second pot of water to boil as well. "Well, we're either going to have to have the chicken by itself or we're going to have to brave the family room to get to the big freezer to find some vegetables."

"Alright. Into the fray we go." Sebastian was laughing and took Kurt by the hand and headed toward the stairs and led them down to the family room. He ignored everyone in the room and headed straight for the storage room. He opened the freezer and they picked through the bags of vegetables.

"I got it." Kurt grabbed a couple of bags of carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. "We'll have soup. I'll make a little rice. It will be good. Let's go back up."

They didn't make it 10 feet from the storage room door.

"Whatcha' cookin' for us?" Puck asked.

"I'm making vegetable soup, but only for the two of us and Sam can have some if he wants."

"No fair. You always play favorites and feed Sam."

"I'm not playing favorites. Sam IS my favorite. And I will always let him eat with us."

Sam smiled. "Sounds good."

"I'll make enough for you too then. It will be done in about 15 minutes."

"What about us?"

"What about you? What about us? The money Carole left for pizza and Chinese was supposed to include me and Sebastian getting to eat too. Did you order us any food either of those times?"

"Dude, we didn't even know you were here," Finn said.

"Because my Navigator sitting outside next to all of the other cars is invisible?"

Sam laughed.

"And you've deleted my number from your phone so you couldn't text me and ask what we wanted?" Kurt took Sebastian's hand and led the way back up the stairs. He heard Artie talking.

"When did that start?"

"Um, a few weeks ago," Sam answered.

"And Burt knows?" Puck asked.

Kurt stopped and went back down the stairs. Sebastian followed him. He stood on the step next to him and wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist.

"I'm right here, despite the fact that you seem to think otherwise. Sebastian and I are dating. He is my boyfriend. My parents know. Any other questions?" Kurt raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, almost daring them to say something else. He turned and went back up the stairs.

Kurt grabbed the instant brown rice from the cabinet and a measuring cup. "Can you grab the cutting board and a knife? Oh, and the tongs."

"Sure."

"Pull the chicken pieces out and chop them up." Kurt poured the right amount of rice into the pot, stirred and put the lid on.

Sebastian chopped the chicken.

Kurt parboiled the vegetables to soften them enough to sautée them. He checked the rice, added the sautéed vegetables and chicken back, added some herbs and salt and stirred it up. He ladled it out into three bowls and moved them to the island.

Sebastian grabbed the pots and skillet and washed them quickly and left them in the drain to dry.

A couple of minutes later, Sam came in the room and sat down at the island with them.

"I'm sorry, Kurt."

"I forgive you. Something's been bothering you and you've been avoiding me and I miss you. I told you that. I know I'm not one of the guys and I can live with that, but losing your friendship is hard. Did I do something to upset you?"

"Or did I? Because you've been avoiding me too."

Sam took a deep breath. "I'm working on it. I wanted something to work out, but it didn't and I'm re-evaluating a lot of things and I'm just really stressed. Hanging out with the guys is mind-numbing and keeps me busy and my mind off things. Hanging out with you two makes me think."

Kurt laughed. "It's okay. Just don't forget about us, okay? We're your friends too."

"I know. This is good. Thanks for letting me eat with the two of you, even though I didn't stand up for you to Finn."

"He was the one that had the money. It was his job to make sure that everyone got fed. If Carole had left the money with you, then that would be different. He needs to learn to be responsible. And leaving out half of the family members who actually LIVE here, who the money was actually FOR, is not being responsible. Plus, this food that we just cooked is for us, the family members that live here. The Glee Guys really need to stop showing up and acting like this is a free restaurant."

"I saw the snack cabinet is empty and the pantry has probably been hit as well," Sebastian said.

Kurt got up and looked in the pantry. "Yep. Did you see how much money Finn had?"

"He had 2 fifties, so $100."

"So this weekend, the Glee guys have cost our parents what looks like a couple hundred dollars given that there's no lunch meat, sliced cheese, chips, or any snacks left. There's no milk, so I'm assuming the cereal got raided as well."

Sam nodded. "Yesterday and today. I think it's all gone."

"Dad bought me and Sebastian a TV to put in my room because we can never watch the one downstairs. You can watch the sci fi series with us in our room whenever you have time or want to."

"Okay." Sam finished up his soup. He got up, rinsed his bowl, and put the bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. "Thanks again. I'll help with the chili later."

Kurt and Sebastian put their stuff in the dishwasher too and headed back upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"This week, I'm going to go to a pawn shop and get a DVD player so we can watch DVDs on the new TV," Kurt said after he shut and locked their door.

"We didn't WATCH the movie we watched earlier." Sebastian laughed and pulled Kurt into a hug.

"Well, I think I might not be able to watch movies unless we're dressed. Too much skin prevents my mind from focusing on the TV screen."

Sebastian laughed even harder. "I have the same problem."

"Want to play a game?"

"Strip poker?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "If you want me to get undressed, you just have to ask." He kissed him and flounced over the cabinet and opened it. "We have the games we had the last time because I never took them back downstairs and swapped them out."

Sebastian chose and they set the game up. They played several different games as the afternoon went on. A couple of hours later, there was a knock at the door. Sebastian got up and opened it.

"You're playing board games? I thought for sure you were up here fucking."

"Not at the moment, Puck. What can I do for you?" Kurt asked.

"We need batteries."

"And you lost the 'who has to go ask Kurt' contest?"

"Basically."

"There in the garage on the shelf closest to… never mind. Come on. I'll show you." Kurt got up and went to the garage. Puck followed along behind.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"What's with you and dating Warblers?"

"Name other options."

"What happened with you and gelmet?"

"That's personal."

Kurt showed Puck the box that had the batteries in it. "This is all we've got. If you need something different, one of you will have to go out and buy some. If you take this box with you downstairs, bring it back up later."

"Got it. You can go back to your exciting board games."

"I will. Thanks. We were having fun."

"Whatever you say."

Kurt went upstairs and Puck walked down the hall a bit farther and went back downstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Crisis averted?" Sebastian asked sarcastically.

"Maybe. He took the whole box. Surely what they need is in there."

"Is he always so crude?"

"Pretty much."

"You didn't correct him. You actually made it sound like we have been…"

"He said that just rile me up. We were doing exactly what he figured we'd be doing, something completely non-sexual – reading, watching TV, playing games. I'm too undesirable to actually find someone who would want to do what he suggested we were doing."

"What?"

"He only said it in an attempt to get me to blush and deny it so that he could tease me even more later."

"Well, he is really wrong, you know?" Sebastian got up and wrapped his arms around Kurt and put his hands on Kurt's back pulling him flush, so they were chest to chest. "He's absolutely wrong."

"They all see me as a girl in a boy's body. Not Sam - but the others. So, from their perspective I'm hesitant about sexual stuff and I want to be treated all delicate like a girl. I've worn women's clothes and they equate that with me being feminine and girly and not a horny teenage guy like them."

"I see. Pretty dumb."

"It is, but it's not like school is a great place for me to publicly announce that I am not a prudish girl, that I would be happy to trade hand jobs and blow jobs and sex positions with a guy."

Sebastian burst out laughing. "I suppose not."

"Plus, I wasn't and I'm not interested in doing those things with some random guy 'just for fun,' as they would call it. I am a romantic. I want the person that I do those things with to care about me. I'm not a prudish girl, but I am a private person and those things are very private to me. So, I'm not interested in randoms and I'm not interested in detailing what I do in private to other people."

"I know. If you had wanted hook-ups you could have found them. It's not like there aren't other gay guys or horny guys willing to experiment at Dalton."

"Are you being propositioned?"

"No, but I'm observant. And even if I were propositioned, I'm not interested in hooking up either."

"I know. You said you had plenty of opportunity for that in Paris."

"I did. And I'm definitely not interested now." He started kissing up Kurt's neck. "I have you and you're a million times better than some random hook-up."

"You don't know. I may turn out to be awful at blow jobs or sex."

"Meh. Techniques can be improved with practice. I'm sure we'll both need practice to get good at it. But we can work on it together."

"Are you propositioning me?" Kurt kissed him.

"Possibly. Is it working?"

"Possibly." He kissed him again.

Sebastian laughed. "Well, unless you're opposed to the idea, I'm not going to keep my hands to myself while we make them all chili for dinner. Your dad said we can be ourselves here and myself is in love with yourself and I plan on making that fact well known."

"Oh really?"

"Really. I'm going to hang all over you like I normally do when we cook. Dancing in the kitchen, kissing you – the normal stuff."

"Well, the rumor mill will be well-oiled in Glee by Tuesday."

"Do you care?"

"Not really. Not unless they start talking outside of Glee and I start to get bullied for acting on my gayness. But most of those guys are gone. It's actually flattering that you want them to know."

"Nah, flattery is fake. I'm good at flattery within the 'charm them' persona I've portrayed. This is real." Sebastian tipped Kurt's chin up and looked him in the eyes. "My only aim is to show you that I love you and their ridiculousness isn't going to stop me from showing you. I didn't wait 18 years to hide now that I have what I've always wanted."

Kurt nodded.

"I understand about skating with the girls yesterday instead of each other and sitting so that one of them was next to each of us. I have no intention of getting the crap kicked out of us because this town isn't accepting. But I also have no intention of hiding inside this house when your dad made it clear that we should feel at home here. This is my first home and I love you and…"

Kurt kissed him and he melted into the passionate kiss. They were both out of breath when they pulled apart.

"No complaints because I love kissing you, but what was that for?"

"Just because."

"Just because?"

"Yep." He leaned back in and resumed the kissing.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I'll put these back downstairs sometime this week and grab some of the other ones for next weekend," Kurt said as they put the games back in the cabinet.

Sebastian propped the pillow up, sat down, and leaned back. He grabbed the book next to him on his shelf. "Read with me?"

"Sure." Kurt grabbed a book and got in bed with Sebastian. Kurt set a timer on his phone in case they fell asleep or got too caught up in their reading.

When it went off, he laid his book on his side shelf and went to the closet to put some clothes on. He put on a pair of jeans and a Henley. He offered one to Sebastian, who took it and put it on with a pair of jeans. They headed down to the kitchen to get started on dinner.

Kurt made breadsticks like he had the last time they made chili. Sebastian remembered everything to do for the chili itself and got started. They flirted and kissed and cooked.

Once half of the breadsticks were in the oven, Sebastian slipped Kurt's phone out of his pocket and turned some music on and stuck it back in his pocket. He offered his hand and Kurt took it and they slow danced around in the kitchen while they waited for the timer on the oven to go off.

When it did, Kurt pulled out the breadsticks and put them in a basket and covered them with a towel. He put the other half of the breadsticks on the baking sheets and put them in the oven.

He stepped back into Sebastian's arms and they resumed their dancing, mixed with some kissing while they waited. Only this time, they had an audience because the guys had heard the timer go off and started coming up the stairs. Puck was carrying Artie and Finn had his wheelchair. Puck sat Artie in the chair and he rolled forward a bit. Mike, Sam, and Rory came up and stopped behind him.

Puck was the one to clear his throat to get Kurt's attention.

"Yes, Puck?"

"Um, dinner?"

"Will be served in the dining room in a few minutes. The other half of the breadsticks will be done in just a few minutes."

Kurt stepped back from Sebastian and walked toward the stove. He grabbed the pot of elbow macaroni and carried it over to the sink and poured it into the awaiting strainer. Sebastian had taken three bowls to the stove and put chili in them. Kurt put the drained pasta into the pot and stirred it up. Sebastian walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around him and started kissing the back of his neck while they waited the last couple of minutes on the breadsticks.

Some of the guys could see them from where they were sitting in the dining room. Kurt did his best to ignore their presence. The oven finally beeped and Kurt pulled the rest of the breadsticks out and put one over the top of his bowl, and two on Sebastian's and Sam's. He put the rest in the basket with the others.

Sebastian carried a stack of bowls into the dining room. Sam hopped up to get silverware and napkins to finish setting the table. Kurt grabbed the ladle and put it in the stockpot and Sebastian grabbed two potholders and put them on the table, so Kurt could sit the pot on the table. Obviously Kurt had decided not to play waiter and serve all of them.

Sam came back in the kitchen looking for one more bowl.

"You don't need another bowl. Your chili is in a bowl already." Kurt pointed to the island where the three bowls with chili in them already were sitting.

"Thanks!" Sam took it and went back into the dining room.

"You're welcome."

Kurt sat down at the island. Sebastian put ice in two glasses and poured them each some tea that he had steeped while they were cooking and sat down with him.

Puck came in the kitchen a couple of minutes later.

"Drinks?"

"You know where the glasses are, and if you guys have already gone through the cans of sodas that were in the pantry, you're welcome to all the water you can drink."

Puck went and looked in the pantry and came out empty handed. "Water it is." He took a glass and filled it up and took it back into the dining room.

Kurt and Sebastian finished their food, loaded their stuff in the dishwasher, and headed upstairs.

"We're not washing the pots and pans?" Sebastian asked.

"They didn't help cook. They can clean."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, what did you think?" Kurt turned to the side, but was still leaning against the headboard.

"I liked it."

Kurt pressed the power button on the remote and turned the TV off. "We can watch another one next weekend."

"Sure." Sebastian leaned forward and kissed him gently.

"You don't have any homework to do?"

"Nope."

"Snuggles?"

"Definitely snuggles, but shower first."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Well, your natural lag of a gag reflex is awesome." Sebastian teased as they lay in bed snuggled up.

Kurt blushed. "Bas," he responded embarrassed. Nuzzling his head down into Sebastian's neck more.

"Hey, I had to work for ages to train myself out of it," he laughed.

"Wait what? Why?"

"I was planning ahead and what else is there to do in boarding school when you're bored?" He laughed.

Kurt laughed too. "I don't know. Read a book. Learn something."

"I did learn something. How not to gag on things."

Kurt rolled his eyes and kissed Sebastian's neck. "Good skill. A+ for execution."

"Mmm. Thank you. We can learn together. It was awesome, though."

"I agree." Kurt ran his hands along Sebastian's side and chest.

"Aren't you tired after two rounds in the shower?"

"I am, but you're here without any clothes and I can touch you."

"Good point." He laughed and pulled Kurt into a steamy kiss.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, they kissed in their room and hugged at the door. Kurt shut the door and went back upstairs to get ready.

He came home right after his last class since he wasn't performing the proposal piece with the Glee Club after school. He hoped to catch Carole at home and talk to her for a little while before he headed to the shop.

He pulled into the driveway and her car was there. He grabbed his satchel and went inside. "Carole?" He didn't get a response right away. "Carole?" he called out again as he walked toward the hall.

"In the laundry room, honey."

He turned and walked into the kitchen and then into the laundry room.

"It seems we were invaded by locusts this weekend," she said as he walked in.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Finn is going to consider me to be a snitch, but it's getting out of hand. The guys showed up right after the basketball game Friday night and I'm not sure how late they all stayed last night, but it was well after dinner."

"I see."

"And they ate EVERYTHING. The snack cabinet is empty. As you can see the pantry shelves were hit as well. There's no cereal, no milk, no lunchmeat, no bread, no cheese. And he didn't include me or Sebastian when he ordered dinner Friday and Saturday. We had to fend for ourselves."

"I left him $100, which should have been plenty even with him eating so much more than the rest of you."

"He spent it all, just not on me or Sebastian. And they got aggravated when I refused to cook for any of them except Sam on Sunday at lunch. When you're here, you cook for them. But when you're gone, they expect me to cook for them, even though they don't even acknowledge my existence otherwise. When I asked Finn why Sebastian and I didn't get any of the pizza or Chinese, he said he didn't know we were home. My Navigator was sitting in plain view, plus where else would be for the whole weekend? We live here."

"I'm sorry, Kurt."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You don't act like I'm invisible. Thanks again for the TV, by the way."

"Oh, you're welcome."

"I don't want you to think that I am opposed to Finn having people over, but between the $100 you left him and all the missing food, it looks to me like this weekend of theirs cost you and Dad about the same as our new TV. You've already taken in two teens in need of a home. Finn doesn't need to add to your expenses by acting like this is a free restaurant for 5 more teens that don't live here."

"I'll have a talk with him. Why aren't you at Glee rehearsal?"

"Ah, well, I didn't participate in Mr. Schue's musical proposal to Miss Pillsbury this afternoon because I would have required me to miss three days of work last week. So, they are singing, 'We Found Love in a Hopeless Place' as a synchronized swimming choir this afternoon. I just came home hoping to find you here to talk for a few minutes. I'm still working my shift this afternoon."

"That's an odd thing to have a high school choir do."

"I'm against big showy proposals like that unless the person being proposed to has already basically said yes in private and the public proposal is in front of friends and family."

"Which high school students are neither friends nor family."

"My thoughts as well. Anyway, it remains to be seen whether I will still be in Glee. I'll find out tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"Participation was mandatory and I refused."

"I see."

"I'll be back after work. I figure you'll be out shopping for a while. I'll go with you if you want to wait until I get back from the shop."

"Thanks, honey. I'll figure out a plan after I get this laundry going."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt walked in the door from the shop and Carole was waiting for him in the living room.

"Are you still willing to go with me?"

"Sure."

They headed back out.

"Do you want to take the Navigator? We can fit the bags in it more easily than we can your car."

"That would be great, honey." She grabbed the shopping bags from her trunk.

Kurt clicked the remote and unlocked the doors. Carole put the bags in the backseat. They both climbed in.

"I thought about what you said. We're going to use two carts. I'm going to put everything that was eaten while I was gone in one cart so the receipt will show just the cost of those items. The other cart I'll use to put the food for this week's meals in."

"Cool idea."

"Thanks."

Kurt drove to Sam's Club. They went inside and each grabbed a cart.

"You know what? Put that back for now. Let's go have a slice of pizza. I haven't eaten since lunch on the plane."

Kurt followed her over to the café area and they got in line. They each ordered a slice of pizza and Carole ordered a drink. They sat down to eat.

"I think what Mr. Schue did was wrong. Requiring high school students to participate in a personal event isn't reasonable."

"Going to school at McKinley isn't reasonable. I figured that out ages ago."

"I know, honey. Do you wish you had stayed at Dalton?"

"A lot of days, yes. But I missed Dad and I thought the people in Glee really actually wanted me to come back. I still haven't actually figured out why it was so important to get me back. Most of them don't even talk to me. Sebastian and I did run into Tina and Quinn at the skating rink Saturday afternoon."

"That sounds like fun."

"It was. We ended up going to a Greek place to eat with them and to see _One For the Money_."

"Oh, I want to see that. Was it good?"

"We liked it, but I haven't read the book, so I can't compare the two."

"So, were you even home when Finn ordered food Saturday night?"

"Yeah, we were back long before they ordered."

"Okay. Just checking. I didn't want to come down on him for it, if you weren't actually home."

"We ate at a Greek place with Tina and Quinn because they invited us. It was good. I think you'd like it."

"I'll have to go try it sometime."

Kurt took their plates and tossed them in the trash. They walked back over to the carts, took two, and headed into the store to get the things on Carole's list. They talked as the walked through the aisles and grabbed what they needed.

"Sebastian and I ate a dozen eggs between us. I used the chicken thighs and two packages of frozen vegetables and some of the instant brown rice to make soup on Sunday for the two of us and Sam. Oh, and Bas and I had one sandwich each on Saturday. I packed them at breakfast and we took them to the shop with us."

"So, you and Sebastian ate less than $10 worth of food in two days, plus whatever you spent on your dinners on Friday and Saturday?"

"Right, and that was about $25, since the Greek place was a sit down place and we left a tip. We shared a dinner."

"Well, Finn had $40 that should have been for you and Sebastian, so he's going to come up with that and repay me. Next time I leave, I'll give you the money for you and Sebastian and I'll give Sam his money. I won't be leaving Finn in charge of everyone's money the next time."

"Thank you. I'm not a big snitch, but it just really made me aggravated that the house was just swept clean of food with no thought to the cost to you and Dad."

"It's fine. I'll broach the subject without mentioning that you told me."

An hour later, they had two carts full of food and were loading them in the back of the Navigator.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"How's Sebastian doing?"

"He's fine. He's still lead Warbler and they're practicing to beat us at Regionals. They have a decent chance. He's a better lead than Blaine was. He and I had a good weekend. We worked Friday until we had to leave for the game. We worked Saturday morning too until 1:00. A bunch of people came in wanting new tires, so he and I changed tires mostly."

"Burt seems pleased with his work on the books."

"That's good. Be prepared for some backlash from Finn. I don't think he knew that Sebastian and I were dating until Sunday when I called him out for not feeding us."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll get an earful of 'How come he's allowed to share a room with his boyfriend and I can't have Rachel spend the night?'"

"Ah. Yes, the ever popular 'You're not fair.' Well, Rachel's not 18. End of discussion."

"If you say so, but I'm pretty sure he won't consider it over."

"Too bad for him."

Kurt laughed. "She just turned 17 last month. He's got a long wait before she's 18."

It didn't take them much longer to get back to the house. Kurt pulled inside the garage to make it take less time to unload the groceries. He started carrying everything in. Carole texted Finn and Sam to come help. A few minutes later, they both came down the stairs and helped Kurt unload everything. Carole, Sam, and Kurt started putting everything away.

"Finn, have a seat."

He sat at the island. "Yeah, Mom?"

"Can you explain to me why I came back to a house that had practically no food left in it?"

"You knew the Glee guys were coming."

"Yeah, but here…" She pulled the receipt out of her wallet for replacing the food the guys had eaten and handed it to Finn.

"$118.43. What's this?"

"It's the receipt for how much food you and your friends ate. And that's not quite complete since I didn't go to the regular grocery store to get that stuff yet. Plus, I gave you $100 to feed the four of you dinner Friday and Saturday night. Is there any change from that?"

"Umm. No?"

Sam spoke up. "Tell her the truth."

"I spent all of it on pizza and Chinese like you said."

"I fail to see how 2 large pizzas and 3 pints and 1 quart of Chinese food came to $100. That's barely $80, even with really good tips for the drivers."

Sam gave him a look. "Finn. Tell her or I will."

"Fine. I paid for everyone's food, except Mike, Artie and Rory chipped in $10 each for the Chinese food because I didn't have enough left to cover all of it."

"And?" Sam said.

"And what? That's the truth."

"And the rest of the truth…" Sam stared at him.

"Fine! I didn't order anything for Kurt or Sebastian."

"Well, you'll repay me $40 of your own money to pay me back for spending Kurt and Sebastian's dinner money on your friends. If you want to cover your friends' food, that will need to come out of your own pocket. I'm not running a free restaurant. And next you have Glee Guys' Weekend here, the rest of the guys need to bring food and drinks to chip in. I'm not springing for another $150 in food plus money for delivery to feed them all weekend."

"Yes, Mom."

By then, Kurt and Sam had finished putting the groceries away.

Kurt asked, "What do you want me to start for dinner?"

"Oh, I bought those pizzas for dinner for tonight. I'm too tired to make anything. You should consider buying these the next time, Finn. These are a lot bigger than the delivery pizzas and they cost like half as much."

Kurt turned the oven on. "Is it okay if I just go upstairs? I'm not really hungry."

"Sure, honey. Thanks for helping with the shopping."

"You're welcome."

Kurt went up to his room, got his books out and tried to get as much done as he could before he got too tired to stay awake. He showered and called Sebastian before he went to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt finished up his remaining homework the next morning before heading to school. Sam came out to ride with him instead of Finn, which made Kurt smile.

"Long time, no see."

"Finn's not speaking to me after last night's confrontation."

"I see. Well, if I'm not welcome in Glee this afternoon, you'll need to find someone to drop you off at the shop afterward."

"Alright. Do you really think he'll kick you out?"

"My assumption is that I'm already kicked out. I didn't go to the mandatory practices and I didn't show up yesterday to perform."

"I'm sorry I've been ignoring you."

"I already said I forgave you. Things happen. Sometimes people just need time to regroup and figure things out."

"Thanks."

"So Finn's not speaking to you?"

"Yeah, he says I broke some 'bro code' by ratting him out last night. Whatever. I have fun playing video games, but none of them are ever there for me like you have been, even when I'm being a moody teenager."

Kurt laughed. "I'm not the fair weather friend type. Unless you specifically say, 'Kurt, I don't want to be your friend anymore.' I'm going to assume that we are friends. And I'll be here for you."

"Well, if I ever say that, make sure and take me to the hospital for a brain scan or something."

"Sure thing. You'd have to be touched in the head to not want to be friends with me anymore," Kurt in his "I'm fabulous" voice.

Sam laughed at him.

Kurt pulled into the school lot and parked. They both got out and headed their separate ways.

"See ya later," Sam said as he turned down the hall the opposite direction from Kurt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After school, Kurt walked into the Glee room and took a seat in the back row on the right and waited for class to start. From the frigid response he got when the guys walked in, it seems that Finn told them what happened. Sam came in and sat next to Kurt.

Mr. Schue walked in right after the bell rang. He noticed Kurt's presence, but said nothing. "So, today we're going to work on 'I Can Fly'. Everyone head to the auditorium."

Kurt picked up his bag and put it on his shoulder to head to the auditorium.

"You're welcome to watch, Kurt, but you made your choice last week."

"That's fine. I'll just go to the shop and work. I'm not sure what you expected would happen if my dad got elected. You helped work on his campaign and wanted him to win. And don't get me wrong - I'm proud of him for going and trying to make a difference. You supported him because he was in favor of keeping the arts in school. Well, he's gone 75% of the time now and my part in all of this was to take up some of the slack with him gone so he wouldn't have to try to train someone new on the weekends that he IS actually home. I worked 25 hours last week, plus went to school all day and turned in every assignment and did all of my reading, but you think I lack commitment." Kurt just shook his head. "I'll see you around." He walked off and went to work.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

That evening, Kurt attended the away basketball game with Carole. He told Sam he'd go to all of his games and he couldn't bring himself to attend an away game by himself, so he picked her up as soon as he got off. As soon as the game ended, he and Carole headed back to the house.

"There's a plate of food for you in the refrigerator."

"Thanks. I'll just take it upstairs and get started on my homework when we get home. Is Dad coming home this weekend?"

"Unfortunately not as far as I know. That's why I traded and went to DC over the weekend."

"Alright."

"Is everything okay?"

"It's how I expect it to be."

"That's not much of an answer."

"I don't have a better one."

They rode in silence the rest of the way home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt grabbed his plate of food and a fork and took it upstairs to eat it without even bothering to warm it up. He just didn't care. The only reason he even ate was because Carole had specifically made him a plate of food. He rinsed the plate when he finished and left it in his bathroom. He worked on his homework for a little while, then showered and called Sebastian. He went to sleep as soon as they hung up.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt drove to school alone the next morning. He had worked on his schoolwork for an hour and just wanted to get out of the house. He drove to the Lima Bean, but then didn't get out. He just sat there thinking until he had to leave or be late to school.

He opened his locker to put some of his books in and found a card that had his name on it. He opened it and it was signed, "Your Secret Admirer." He slipped the card into a textbook and then pulled the book out of his locker. He went to all of his classes and left for the shop after his last period, or at least he tried to. Rachel stopped him right as he closed his locker.

"Did you get your letter? Are you a NYADA finalist?"

He could tell by her response that she had obviously gotten hers. "Congratulations, Rachel."

"Thank you. You didn't answer me."

"I did not get a letter from NYADA."

"Oh, well, it must be on its way then."

Kurt just nodded. "I have to go to the shop, Rachel." He stepped around her and headed out the building.

"Kurt!" she yelled.

He stopped. She caught up. "Why are you leaving the building?"

"I told you. I'm headed to the shop – to work."

"What about Glee?"

"I'm not in Glee anymore. I have to go Rachel."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt waited until Warbler rehearsal had ended to call Sebastian.

"You didn't get Sam to put a card my locker did you?"

"Well, good afternoon to you too, Kurt. No, I did not have Sam put a card in your locker. Why?"

"Oh, well, I found one in there this morning. I didn't think it was from you and I was going to toss it, but then I thought there was a tiny chance that it was and if so, then I wasn't going to toss it."

"Well, it wasn't me."

"Alright. Please don't think I want you to. Don't have Sam do it now that I've mentioned it. If you want to do something for me, don't waste money on expensive greeting cards, just save your money to go out to try a new place together or to stay in and eat at home. I'd rather spend time with you than for you to spend money on cards or something."

"I know. We've spent a lot of time talking and I've been paying attention. I'm on my way to dinner right now. I'll call you later. I miss you."

"I miss you too. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll be home Friday."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Oohh. Who's the loverboy?" Jeff came up behind Sebastian.

"Kurt."

"Really? Congratulations."

"Thanks?"

"He's a sweetie. Too nice for his own good most of the time."

"He can be."

"How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Two and a half weeks."

"Cool. I'll keep it to myself. I'm not a gossip."

"Thanks, Jeff."

"Sit with me and Nick, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll come find you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt put his phone away and got back to work on the car he had been repairing. When he got home that evening, he skipped dinner and headed to his room. He put his metal trashcan in the bathtub and took a lighter and burned the secret admirer's card.

He did his homework, took a shower, lay down on his bed to do some more reading, and fell asleep. He woke up around 2:00 and realized what he had done. He picked his phone up and found a missed call and 10 text messages from Sebastian.

He texted him back and told him what had happened and apologized. He was kicking himself mentally when his phone vibrated.

He answered it quietly.

"I'm so sorry. I must have forgotten to turn my ringer back on after school. I wasn't ignoring you, I promise. I told you I wouldn't do that passive-aggressive thing. I really mean that. I'm so sorry."

"Kurt, slow down. I'm not angry with you. I was just worried. I said I'd call back, but you didn't answer, and that's not like you."

He took a selfie him lying in the bed with his books. "Attack of the boring homework" was his caption.

Sebastian heard the incoming text ping and looked. "I see you've been sleeping on your books. I'm fairly certain knowledge cannot be obtained by osmosis."

"It's a shame. It would be much more efficient, although not terribly comfortable."

"I'm glad you're okay. I'm going to go back to sleep. You too, okay?"

"I will. I love you and I didn't mean to worry you."

"I know. I love you too."

Kurt turned the ringer back on and put the phone on his shelf. He moved the books to the desk and got back in bed, under the covers this time, and went back to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt found another card in his locker Thursday morning and Friday morning. He didn't bother to open either of them. He just put them in his satchel to deal with later.

During third period on Friday, a pass with his name on it was delivered. He opened it and he was supposed to go to Miss Pillsbury's office. He quietly packed his stuff up and left.

She ushered him in and closed the door behind him.

"Good morning, Kurt. Please have a seat."

"Alright." Kurt said down and placed his satchel in the empty chair next to him.

"It has come to my attention that you may be in need of someone to talk to."

"You mean Rachel's been here to tell you personal information about me."

"Well, when you -"

"When I put it that way," Kurt interrupted her. "it sounds like you're part of the gossip chain at this school."

"Well, yes."

"Pray tell, what has she told you."

"That you quit the Glee Club and that you quit the Cheerios and you didn't apply to college after all."

"Well, she's one-third right."

"Which third?"

"The Cheerios part. I decided that I am no longer interested in being berated for an hour before school every morning. I did not quit Glee. I was given a choice and the choice I made resulted in Mr. Schue removing me from the group. And I already told you that I applied to college, so I have no idea why you believed that part."

"You didn't ask me what I believed about what I had been told. You ask me what she had told me."

"Right. My mistake. So, now that you have had your gossip corrected, am I free to leave?"

"Do you want to talk about anything?"

"No."

"Well, I would like to ask you a question."

"Alright."

"You didn't participate in the proposal."

"That's not a question, but it is an accurate statement. I had obligations to my father to show up to work my assigned shifts and I did not have the ability to rearrange the work schedule to accommodate for me missing three days of work in a row last week to rehearse the number in the pool."

"I see."

"You are wearing an engagement ring, so congratulations seem in order."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else? Or can I go back to class?"

She took out a pass and wrote Kurt's name on it for him to go back to class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

That afternoon Sebastian showed up at the shop and got to work on oil changes and tire rotations. It was his weekend to go back to the shop on Sunday morning and work while Kurt was in Cincinnati. They had figured it out a few weeks back. Kurt was getting tired of driving there every weekend, so he moved his lessons to every other week. And on those weekends, Sebastian would work extra hours doing the books since he could do them without supervision.

Sam came in to work for a couple of hours after Glee and took the car when he left.

When the shop closed, Kurt and Sebastian changed and headed to the game. Kurt pulled into the school lot and reached over and took Sebastian's hand and squeezed.

"Just two more next weekend and then the basketball games will be over and we can do something else on Friday nights."

"It was fun when you were cheering. It's less fun when you're not, although I do like sitting with you."

"I have a surprise for you at home."

"Mmm. I can't wait."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They stood as close to the exit doors of the gymnasium as they could toward the end of the fourth quarter. As soon as the buzzer sounded, they left and went straight home.

Kurt pulled in the driveway to find it empty, except his dad's truck. "How about we make a super fast breakfast-for-dinner omelette? I don't want to spend a lot of time cooking. It's already late and I didn't eat lunch."

"That's fine. You chop some vegetables or cheese or whatever and I'll put this upstairs and come right back down and help you."

Sebastian gave him a quick kiss and hug and hung his coat up and headed upstairs. Kurt hung his coat up and headed into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and found a glass bowl with a lid and a note on it - "Kurt and Sebastian's".

He took it out and poured the contents into a pot and heated it up. Sebastian came in the room and saw a pot on the stove and looked confused. He walked over to Kurt and wrapped him in his arms and kissed him.

"Carole left us soup. I'm just warming it up."

Sebastian just nuzzled into Kurt's neck, took a deep breath, and held him close.

Once the soup was warm, Kurt ladled it into two bowls and they sat at the island and ate. They cleaned up the dishes and headed upstairs after they finished.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was holding the two cards Kurt had found in his locker on Thursday and Friday.

"I burned the first one. I figured it was a practical joke and I wasn't in the mood. When a second and third one showed up, I didn't open them. But who would waste that much money on a practical joke? I mean most of the guys who would like to make me feel special just to torment me later would rather spend $4 buying junk food than waste it buying me cards."

"I don't know. But I guess as long as you just ignore them, the person will get the hint that you aren't interested."

"I guess. Let's just forget about that. Do you want your surprise now or later?"

"Now, of course."

"Alright. Close your eyes." Kurt pulled the container of brownies out of his dresser drawer and closed it. He walked over to the desk and sat it down. "Open your eyes."

He looked at Kurt first, who looked at the desk. Sebastian turned a little and saw the container. "You made me brownies?"

"I did. This morning. So, they're fresh."

Sebastian opened the container and took one out and took a big bite. "So good. Thank you."

Kurt straddled his legs and sat down on his lap. "You're welcome."

Sebastian stuffed the rest in his mouth and wrapped his arms around Kurt. Once he swallowed, he looked up and offered Kurt a kiss, which he gladly accepted.

"Chocolate kisses," Kurt laughed. "How much homework do you have?"

"Only an hour or so. Something that was assigned this afternoon. Next week, I think I'm going to ask this teacher on Thursday what the extra assignment on Friday will be and explain that I go home and work on Friday afternoons. And it would help to not be given any additional surprise assignments on Fridays."

"You can try." He leaned down and kissed him again. "Why don't you try getting it done now and I'll go do our laundry and pack us a lunch for tomorrow."

"Alright, but a few more kisses first."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A little over an hour later, Kurt returned with a basketful of clean clothes. He put them away and put the basket back in the closet and came out in just his underwear.

"Well, that got my attention."

"I thought it might."

Sebastian smiled. "I have three pages left."

"I'll go start the shower."

Kurt turned the shower on and got in and Sebastian was right behind him.

"I can read the other three pages on Monday during lunch."

Kurt laughed and pulled Sebastian into a kiss. "I bet you can."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt grabbed their lunches after they ate and they headed in to start working at 7:00. By noon, they were both ready to head out.

"Where are we going?"

"Electronics store to get some cables and a DVD player."

"I thought you were going to a pawn shop."

"Didn't have time. This will be better anyway. I can get a warranty."

They drove across town and went inside. The minute he entered the store, they were greeted by a young woman in her twenties offering them 20% off their total purchase if they'd sign up for a store credit card.

"Can I pay it off today?"

"Sure. You make payments at the service desk."

"Alright." Kurt took the clipboard and filled in his information.

She took it to a desk an input his info.

They walked over to her. "We'll check back in a few minutes. We're going to look at the DVD players."

"That's fine."

Kurt grabbed the cords he needed first, and then they went to look at the DVD players. Kurt opened the store website and looked at the reviews as they stood there. He held the phone so that Sebastian could see as well. He picked up the least expensive one with the best reviews. They walked back over to the desk.

"You were approved. Give this number to the clerk and here's your coupon," she said as she handed Kurt two sheets of paper.

"Thank you."

They got in line to pay. Kurt bought the warranty and got back in the service desk line to pay the balance. Sebastian stood in line with him and waited. Once the balance was paid they left the store.

"Well, that took longer than I had anticipated, but we saved about $20. So, not too bad."

"So where to next?"

"To the hardware store briefly and then home to hook all of this up. I'm removing my Wii and games from the family room. I never get to play them and we're hooking the TV to the stereo speakers so we get better sound. So, I have an HDMI splitter and some audio out cables and we're going to go hook everything up to make our own home entertainment system in our room."

"You packed us a lunch."

"I did, but we can eat it in our room. I brought it in case we got hungry and had to stay late at work again. I didn't want to spend $12 on lunch when I wanted to buy the electronic stuff."

"Makes sense. Plus, my brownies are at home."

Kurt smiled. He reached out for Sebastian's hand and held it as he drove to the hardware store.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Alright. That's it. Everything's all plugged up and ready to go."

"You're the one who set everything up downstairs, aren't you?"

"Yep. I'm sure Puck would have helped Finn do it, but my dad bought the TV last Christmas when I was home and did it myself. Finn probably thinks Dad did it because he wasn't home when I did it."

"What's he going to say when he finds the Wii missing?"

"Doesn't matter. It's mine. He can buy his own if he wants one."

There was a knock at the door.

Kurt went to open the door.

"What's with the keyed doorknob?" Carole asked.

"Come in." Kurt shut the door behind her.

"I bought a DVD player and reclaimed my Wii and games from downstairs. I hooked everything up in here and I'd like it to stay here. When we aren't home, I don't want any of my stuff taken back down to the family room since it's really Finn's room. If I do ever get around to inviting people over, they'll stay up here with us."

"I see."

"I'll give you a copy of the key to the room as soon as I get one made. It only came with two."

"That's fine."

"I also don't trust Puck to not come nosing through here now that he knows that Sebastian is my boyfriend."

"I get it."

"Oh, they raided the battery box while you were gone. Puck came up here asking for some. I showed him where the box was and told him to put it back, but I don't know what they took."

"I'll check."

"You came up for a reason?"

"Yes. I came up to tell you that I'm leaving now and picking Burt up. There will be a family dinner as soon as we get back. I'm sorry if I'm ruining your evening plans."

"I thought Dad wasn't coming home this weekend."

"He wasn't."

"We weren't going out. So, just let us know when to come down."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they finished eating the lunch Kurt had packed, he said, "Close your eyes." He went in the closet and pulled out a bolster he had ordered and put it on the bed. He sat down on the bed and leaned back against it. "Open them."

Sebastian was sitting at the desk and turned toward his voice. "Ooh, that's cool." He got up and climbed in the bed and leaned up against it next to Kurt. "We'll be able to watch movies and read in bed a lot easier."

"That's why I got it. I thought it would be a good investment." He wrapped his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and he scooted in closer. Kurt grabbed the remote and started a movie.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt's phone pinged at 7:00.

"Dinnertime."

He and Sebastian headed down to the dining room. When they got there, everyone was already seated and there were pizzas in the middle of the table.

"Help yourselves," Carole said.

Everyone grabbed a paper plate and some pizza.

"So, I've come back this weekend because of a couple of reasons. First and foremost is because of Finn's engagement."

"His what?" Kurt asked.

"He asked Rachel to marry him last week and she said 'yes'. They've set the date for March 3rd in the afternoon after Regionals."

"Rachel is 17."

Burt responded. "We are aware of that, but Hiram and LeRoy are willing to sign the papers."

Kurt felt like had taken drugs or gotten drunk. "Are you serious? Is this some kind of weird early April Fool's joke?"

"It's not a joke. I love Rachel and she loves me and we're getting married."

"Okay," Kurt said. "Where are you going to live?"

"At the Berry's," Carole answered.

"Despite their engagement, I will not lift the ban on overnight stays for significant others unless both parties are 18 years old. The Berrys do not have the same rule and Finn will be allowed to spend the night wherever he wants since he is 18."

"Where is the wedding going to be?" Kurt asked.

"At the courthouse more than likely," Finn answered.

Kurt was certain that this was some kind of weird hallucination, but opted to say nothing this time. He just nodded. "You said there were a couple of reasons."

"Yes. The second one we will discuss in about 15 minutes when our guests arrive, so finish up eating."

Kurt ate a second slice of pizza and got up to toss out his paper plate and put his glass in the dishwasher. Finn put several slices of pizza on his plate and headed downstairs.

The others continued to eat.

"Should I stay or go?" Sam asked when he had finished.

Before Burt had a chance to answer, Finn was on his way back into the dining room. "Where's the Wii and the games?"

"In my room."

"I wanted to play one of the games."

"Play your xBox or your Playstation."

"They don't have the Mario games."

"Well, the Wii is mine and it's staying in my room. If you want one, buy one."

Finn stomped off back downstairs.

"What's that about?" Burt asked.

"I'll tell you later, sweetheart."

"Fine."

"Sam, you can stay or leave. It's Kurt that can't leave."

Sam didn't leave.

The doorbell rang.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Everyone moved to the living room and Burt answered the door. He took Mr. Schuester's coat and Carole took Miss Pillsbury's and they hung them in the closet.

"Please, come in and sit down," Carole said.

"I asked the two of you to come over because I can't believe the story that Carole told me and I came all the way back from DC for two days that I hadn't planned to so I could hear it directly from you."

"I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Hummel," Miss Pillsbury said very politely.

"Will, I want you to explain to me why Kurt isn't in Glee anymore."

"He refused to show up to mandatory rehearsals."

"When was he given notice that these rehearsals would take place?"

"The Tuesday before they started."

"So, the day before?"

"Yes."

"And you consider that adequate notice for someone to get a replacement for their shifts for three days?"

"He just works for you."

"As the shift manager for the afternoon shift. He's in charge of the garage."

"In charge?"

"Yes, as in he's the most qualified mechanic in the shop in the afternoons. What did you think he was doing? Sweeping the floors? Cleaning tools?"

"Well, he's just a kid."

"A highly qualified 'kid' who is 18 and legally old enough and has enough certifications to run the place for the afternoon."

"I didn't know."

"I tried to tell you, but you didn't want to hear what I had to say," Kurt said.

"My other question is this. Were the rehearsals for a school-sponsored official New Directions event?"

Mr. Schue pursed his lips, and then shook his head. "No."

"Then, how the hell do you think you can get away with making an unofficial event mandatory?"

"I thought he was just being obstinate."

"So, you thought you'd bully him into submission?"

"I should have listened to what he said."

"Ya' think?" Burt turned to Kurt. "How many hours did you work last week?"

"25."

"And this week?"

"The same."

"So, he goes to school for nearly 40 hours a week, works for 25 hours a week, does 10 or more hours of homework a week and because he didn't have time to show up for 6 additional hours of rehearsals, you kick him out of the only afterschool activity he is in?"

Mr. Schue just looked sheepish, but said nothing.

"You make this right or I will. And that's a promise. And I don't just mean you let him show up Monday. I mean you explain to the rest of the group why what you did was wrong."

Mr. Schue nodded.

"And that solo he had and the part he had in that other song – I better hear him singing those in three weeks at Regionals. He won that solo fair and square. You keep acting like he has less talent than Rachel and it's a bunch of hooey. He already got early acceptance into one of the top five musical theater programs in the country. It's his place to share the details of that when he feels ready to. And that information isn't to be public knowledge. Whether he accepts that offer is up to him. It's not the only school he applied to. But you need to get your prejudices checked. If he's good enough for a top-five school, he's been good enough for solos all along."

"Congratulations, Kurt. That's really good news for you," Miss Pillsbury said.

"Thanks."

"May I ask why the lead singer from the Warblers is here?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Sebastian is my boyfriend. He lives here."

"And Sam is here too?"

"I live here too, Mr. Schue. You knew that I came back from Kentucky. I've been living here since like the end of October."

"I see."

"So, you're going to straighten this out and Kurt will be in Glee on Monday?"

Mr. Schue nodded.

"Well, then, I have a couple of other issues to deal with while everyone is home, so I'll walk you two out. I appreciate you coming over."

Burt handed them their coats and they were on their way.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, next up is the four of you boys. Sam, go get Finn."

"Yes, sir."

Finn and Sam came back a couple of minutes later.

"Have a seat." He waited for them to sit down. "I've heard that there have been lines drawn in the house and I'm not pleased. I was unaware of the fact that the Glee guys actually do not invite Kurt to participate in the guys' weekends. I was under the impression that the girls got together on the same weekends and that Kurt chose to spend his weekends with them, not that he was intentionally excluded from the guys' weekends. Now, obviously, he knew and chose not to tell me, which tells me a lot. He knew he wasn't welcome and didn't want to force himself into the group."

Kurt nodded.

"Now, my biggest issue is that you have had the guys over at least once a month since the beginning of the year, right after we moved in. Apart from the 3 of you, there are 5 other guys in Glee from my understanding, not that all of them come each time, but that means that we are hosting half of these weekends or possibly more than half since I've only heard Puck and Artie's names mentioned a couple of times as hosts. This last weekend cost me nearly $250. Take 12 months times $250 and that's $3000. I paid less than that for the car that Sebastian and Sam are sharing."

Finn looked shocked at the cost.

"So, you're moving out in three weeks. I expect that you're going to want to throw another one of these parties as a sort of bachelor party for yourself. I will allow the guys to come over, but I am not footing a $250 weekend. The guys need to chip in for the food delivery and they need to bring food to contribute to the snacking. I will allot $40 for you to spend on whatever you order in. The rest of the food you contribute needs to come from your own funds."

"I don't have that kind of money."

"Yet, you see no reason why you shouldn't get married in three weeks. Make up your mind. Either you are an adult or you aren't. Adults do not expect their parents to foot the bill for $250 parties once a month. And I know that the Berrys are not going to foot the bill for you to host the parties at their place. They may allow it to happen there, but they aren't going to pay for it."

Carole spoke up. "Did you give Kurt and Sebastian the $40 yet?"

"No. I don't have it."

"Then you'll go to the bank and withdraw it," Carole said.

"Another thing. If any more of these guys' weekends take place here, you're cooking for yourselves. No more expecting Carole or Kurt or Sebastian to cook for you. I can't believe you and the other guys had the nerve to ask Kurt to cook for you to start with. You exclude him and then treat him like your personal chef?"

"He's the best cook," Finn retorted.

"Well, maybe if he were part of the group, then cooking for the group might be something he would do. But don't ask any of the three of them again."

"Fine."

"I spoke with Hiram and LeRoy. They are willing for you to live with them, but you will need to cover the cost of your own food. They don't buy any junk food and they don't intend to start. So, you'll need to start looking for an afterschool job or you need to start working at the shop again, but you'll still need to find a weekend job because I don't have enough available non-mechanic work hours to cover the amount of food you eat, plus other expenses."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you eat about $500 a month worth of food. You need to pay for the insurance on your truck, your phone, and your food. That's going to run you about $700 a month. I don't have that many floor-sweeping, tool-cleaning, cash-register-running hours available since I don't need anyone to do that on Saturdays and we aren't open on Sundays. The most I can offer you is 15 hours a week, if you work from 4-7 every day like Kurt and Sam."

"Sebastian works on the weekends."

"He's doing the books, which you do not know how to do. Your mom and I have agreed to pay for your car insurance and your phone until you graduate. Then those things will become your responsibility. So, if you eat less junk food, you might be able to get away with eating on the amount of money you make working 15 hours a week, but you won't have any money for other things, like gas in your truck or going out to eat or the movies or anything."

"This sucks. You're just punishing me because I want to do something you don't want me to do."

Carole spoke gently, "Finn, if you are old enough to get married, you are old enough to pay for your own expenses. That's how it works. You're only living with the Berrys until you finish high school. You and Rachel will need to find your own place in New York since that's where she's determined to go to school."

"You'll have to work full time there, Finn. I've looked at the cost of living there. It's like $1000 a month for an efficiency apartment."

"What's an efficiency?"

"It's basically like a hotel room with a tiny kitchen in one area. The only part walled off is the bathroom."

"$1000 a month for a single room with a bathroom?"

"Yep. And that's not in Manhattan where the colleges are. Apartments there are about twice as much."

"That's insane."

"That's New York. You'll have to work full time just to pay for your half of the bills, even if the Berrys agree to cover Rachel's half until she gets out of college."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Because of all of the research I did in the fall. Remember me talking about going to the library and getting books and doing research about going to college?"

"Sort of."

"Well, that's what I found out. I researched how much it would cost to go to school in New York City."

"This is a very adult decision to make, Finn," Carole said. "If you go to New York with Rachel, your name will be on the lease. You'll have to continue to pay your half of the rent, even if you bail on her and come back to Lima. If you marry her, you are making a commitment to stay with her. I know people get divorced, but it would be a lot better to be certain of something before you make a commitment. You can't just go and then decide you don't like it there and expect her to come back with you. If she gets into college there, she'll stay there for four years."

"And New York is where she wants to work after she graduates. She has no plans to come back to Lima," Kurt added. "Can Sebastian, Sam, and I be excused? It seems that you have a lot more to discuss with Finn that doesn't have anything to do with us."

"Not so quick. We'll return to this, Finn. As for the last topic - when Carole is gone, it is not Kurt's job to run this household. She will mark the family calendar to show the days she will be gone. On those days, you can either work together and cook together and eat together or whoever doesn't want to participate can order their own food and have it delivered or go out and get it and pay for it themselves. Carole will post a menu on the fridge before she leaves the next time. Follow the menu and cook together, or pay for your own. Also, someone left the front door unarmed several times during the week. Every time that happens, the security company calls me and they send people out to check that the house is secure. Stop letting that happen. Put the code in when you go out or come in. I get charged after 3 security checks per month."

"Anything else?" Finn asked.

"Effective immediately, Finn and Sam are responsible for cleaning their bathroom and the family room bathroom. Carole will do the hallway bathroom and our bathroom. Kurt and Sebastian will clean theirs. You'll each vacuum your own rooms. Sam will do the upstairs hall and the stairway. Finn will do the living room. Kurt will do the dining room. Carole will sweep and mop the kitchen, laundry room, hallway bathroom and the downstairs hallway, and our room. Dusting will be decided later."

"Alright," Kurt said.

Sam and Sebastian nodded.

"Finn stays. The rest of you can go."

Carole said, "Oh, Kurt, before you go, there were a couple letters for you in the mail today. They're over on the table near the door."


	12. Chapter 12

Kurt put one of the envelopes down on his vanity, and then he tossed what seemed to be another greeting card into the pile with the other two that he hadn't opened. "I think whoever is sending them is serious. The person went to the trouble of buying a stamp and mailing the card. That's a lot more hassle than stuffing a card through the slots in my locker."

"I think ignoring them is probably the best. Or I can open them and make sure they don't say anything creepy and then we can burn them like you did the first one."

"That works for me."

Sebastian opened each one and put it back in the envelope afterwards. "Nothing creepy. Same handwriting. Each one just says, 'Your Secret Admirer' like the first one said." Sebastian put them on the dresser. "But this time we burn them in the fireplace, not the bathtub."

Kurt laughed. "Good idea."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, they headed downstairs at 6:15. Kurt went in the kitchen to make them a quick breakfast. Sebastian took the cards into the living room and burned them in the fireplace.

Kurt handed him an egg sandwich on a paper plate and a travel mug with coffee in it. They headed out the garage side door. Kurt dropped Sebastian off at the shop and drove to Cincinnati. After his lessons, he drove back to Lima. He got back to the shop at 1:30. He texted Sebastian and he came out five minutes later.

"I finished about 10 minutes ago," he said as he climbed in the car and surprised Kurt by leaning over the console and kissing him. "I missed you. It's lonely in there on Sundays."

"It is. The shop always seems bigger when you're by yourself."

"How were your lessons?"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they had eaten, they were lying in the bed talking.

"I feel bad after listening to your dad talk to Finn about his expenses. I know I don't eat $500 worth of food a month because I'm only here 8-10 days a month, but your dad got the car and the phone and I feel like I should be paying for those things rather than him."

"We will pay for those things. Dad can afford it right now. He has us on family policies as dependents – me, you, Sam, and Finn. But I'm guessing that getting married pushes Finn out of the dependent category for the car insurance. The phone, I don't think it makes a difference other that he thinks Finn should pay for it himself."

"Are you sure? I'd rather pay for the car insurance and phone myself. I mean, I'm working I should pay for my share. I always have."

"We can talk to Dad about it."

"Okay. I just don't ever want him to think I'm not pulling my own weight."

"We aren't throwing $250 parties once a month. You're doing well in school. You got into college with a scholarship. You help out around the house. You do your job well at the shop. He's not disappointed in you. My dad isn't a 'beat around the bush' kind of guy. You saw him with Mr. Schue last night. If he's disappointed in you, you'll know."

"I suppose so."

There was a knock at the door. Kurt got up to answer it.

"Come in, Dad."

Burt entered and walked toward the window and sat down in Kurt's chair.

"I came up to see how the two of you are doing. I don't want you two or Sam to feel like I only pay attention when people screw up."

"I know you don't, Dad."

"But Sebastian doesn't know that yet. How's school going Sebastian? Do you need help with anything?"

"No. School's fine. I'm making all A's. I'm tutoring 3 people each week, to make money. I'd tutor more, but I need the rest of the time to do my schoolwork most of the time. I've been working to get it done in four days so I have time to work and relax when I'm here on the weekends."

"I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. Are the Warblers treating you right?"

"Things are fine. After his initial bluster of challenging me, Blaine has given up trying to take the lead from me. I think he knows he'll get it back for next year and he's just biding his time as a 'team player' to win the spot back again."

"At least he's not causing a ruckus. I just wanted to let you know, that you two will more than likely be alone here for spring break week. I'm going to have Carole come to DC and Sam is going back to Kentucky. And if Finn follows through on his plan to marry Rachel, he will be living at the Berrys by then."

"Okay. We'll be fine, Dad."

"I know you will. I just wanted you to know that the house won't be overrun by people being here 24/7."

"Thanks."

"How about you? How are you doing?" Burt asked Kurt.

"It's been a long couple of weeks at school."

"Yeah. Carole said you quit the Cheerios, and then she told me about this Glee fiasco."

"I'm still making all A's and I've been putting more hours in at the shop than I did before."

"And I appreciate that, but make sure you're still saving time for some fun."

"I am."

"I'm glad to see the two of you happy together. And just in case you were wondering, I will not make Sebastian move to Finn's room if he moves out to live with Rachel."

"Thanks. I hadn't actually thought about that yet mostly because I just can't imagine them actually getting married."

"I know, bud. I could see you and Sebastian married LONG before I could ever see Finn and Rachel married. I'm not sure he knows how to cook anything except grilled cheese sandwiches. And the two of them – I'm not even sure they get along. Whenever Finn opens his mouth, she talks over him. She corrects him all he time. And he's never been interested in living in a big city as far as I know. We're not really sure what's making him feel the need to marry her before they even graduate or before she turns 18."

"Are you asking my opinion?"

"Sure, if you have some insight."

"He has no plan, no goal. The only thing he sees that he has is her. She's desperate to keep him. She's wanted him since sophomore year, maybe before that, but I didn't meet her until sophomore year. Her desire to have him and how sure she is of herself makes him feel like he has some worth. He's always relied on his popularity and position as the quarterback. When he didn't get scouted he was devastated. He thought the key to his future was football. Then, it was gone. Now, she is all he has left. And he's holding on as tight as he can."

"So, you don't think he actually loves her? He loves the fact that she loves him."

"Something like that. Sit down with him and ask him what attracts him to Rachel. What qualities does she have that he finds attractive? What do they like to do together? What things do they have in common? What do they talk about – besides New York and Broadway and Rachel's dream of being a star? I'm pretty sure all of those lists will be really short."

"I'm going to go talk to Carole some more and then to Hiram and LeRoy too."

"Thanks for the TV. If you lean forward, you can see that we got it all set up. I connected it to my stereo and hooked up my Wii. Oh, and I bought a DVD player so we can watch movies."

"Looks good. I like that big pillow thing you got for your bed. Tell Carole where you got that so she can get one for our bed. It looks a lot more comfortable than just using pillows."

"I'll tell her. Thanks for defending me to Mr. Schue. I guess he just thought I was working in the shop for free helping out like I did when I was a kid. I tried to explain it to him. He is effeminophobic and slightly misogynistic. He needs to get over his issues."

"I know, kiddo, but when Carole told me that you weren't in Glee anymore I saw red. How does he get off thinking that using a high school choir to propose to his girlfriend can be considered a mandatory event? Anyway, you let me know if there's even a shred of him acting like this is your fault."

"Alright. But it's not going to be pleasant in there anyway. I can tell from the way the other guys are behaving that Finn said something to them about getting in trouble over the food last weekend because they're all being even more aloof than normal. They've had a year of coming here at least once a month and totally running the show for the weekend. And they've lost their choice gaming and free food location and they obviously think it's my fault."

Burt nodded. "I'm not sure there's much that can be done about that. I should have stepped in sooner, but I wasn't operating with all the needed information." He looked toward the door. "I saw the keyed lock. Be sure to get that copy to Carole as soon as you can."

"I will."

"I thought you were going to start having some of the Warblers over. You asked and made a big deal out it and then you haven't done it."

"Maybe soon."

"Alright. Check the schedule before you choose a date. If you invite younger guys over, you need to do it on a weekend when Carole or I will be home. If they're 18 already, you can have them over whenever."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I'll see you two at dinner. I'm gonna go talk to Sam now."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Why haven't you invited any of the Warblers?" Sebastian asked, as he and Kurt leaned back against the bolster again.

Kurt took Sebastian's hand and intertwined their fingers. "I didn't want to make things harder for you at Dalton. Girls don't have the market on gossip. I didn't want you to get hassled. I didn't know if you ever even told anyone else besides Nick and Jeff that you live here. I didn't want to create a situation for you where a bunch of people of unknown trustworthiness would know something private about you."

"This is one of the many reasons that you are the sweetest person I've ever met." He scooted even closer to Kurt and put his arm around Kurt's shoulders and rolled Kurt onto his side and into his chest and wrapped both arms around him.

Kurt wrapped his free arm around Sebastian's torso and slipped his other arm behind him and hugged him. "I love you and I will always try to do whatever will protect you."

"Jeff knows about us dating. I'm figuring he may have told Nick since they're so close."

"Obviously all of the Glee guys know now, and Quinn and Tina found out last weekend, so I'm sure the girls all know too. But since I didn't attend rehearsal last week, it remains to be seen how much of a fuss anyone puts up about it, mostly Rachel."

"Well, your dad and Carole approve and it's their house, so if other people don't like it, too bad for them."

Kurt kissed Sebastian's neck. "You definitely got the papa bear seal of approval this afternoon."

"Would you get married young if it were legal here?"

"You know, I might. My parents were young. Sam's parents were young. And then Dad and Carole got married later in life. I think age has a little to do with it, but I think the general lack of knowledge on how being an adult works I think probably destroys more young marriages than anything, especially if you throw a baby or two in the mix. But I think some people are fine getting married young. Other people need more time to be adults and find their way on their own before they try to do it with a partner."

"I think what you just said – partner – is a big key. From what you've said, Rachel doesn't seem to see Finn as her equal partner."

"You've hit the nail on the head. When you came at me about Rachel wanting to take her 'best gay' to New York with her, that made me think about Blaine and Rachel both. And then the whole _West Side Story_ pact made me more introspective. Rachel and Blaine see the people around them as accessories in a way. People are there to prop them up, hold their hands, build them up, and always be there for them. And unless Finn is interested in being her good-looking bag holder and human accessory, it's not going to work out. She will always see her goal as the important one. And maybe on some level that's what attracts her to Finn. He's good looking and easy going. He'll do whatever she needs done to achieve her goals because keeping her means helping her achieve those goals, and since he has none of his own, there's nothing to keep him from being there for her 24/7."

"I can see how you compare the two. From things you've said, Blaine didn't 'see' you until you started to pull away. You were tired of his 'Blaine and the Pips' routine and he offered you a morsel to keep you from starving. He fed you just enough attention to keep you from leaving him. When he got Tony, you supported him, even though he took it from you when he had said he wouldn't audition for it. He saw that you'd stick by him even when he stabbed you in the back. I'm sure he didn't expect you to break up with him."

"My newfound self-respect doesn't make the people who've walked all over me happy – Blaine, Rachel, Coach Sue, Mr. Schue, Finn, some of the other Glee guys…"

"But it isn't your job to make any of those people happy. You're a decent person who treats people respectfully. Beyond that, people have to make themselves happy."

"Which is kind of where we started. Finn isn't happy. He has no goals. No list of things to accomplish to give him a sense of purpose. Right now I think knowing that Rachel's wants him gives him that feeling of purpose – being needed."

"So you're happy with your choice of going to Cincinnati?"

"I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not disappointed that I'm not going to New York City. That's always been in the back of my mind. But in a lot of ways, I romanticized New York as this place where I could be free to be myself and people wouldn't hate me just because I'm me. It would be a place where I could earn roles based on my talent and hard work, not on some arbitrary level of masculinity that I do or don't possess. It became this too-good-to-be-true, only acceptable destination because I just had to believe that my life wasn't going to revolve around how to get red dye out my favorite outfit and how to get the dumpster stench out of my clothes. I had to believe in this magical place where gay boys and men were equal members of society and were respected for their abilities. But hatred and prejudice are everywhere. New York City isn't this magical place where nepotism and couch casting don't exist. People get gay bashed, even in New York City. I'm going to face prejudice my whole life. Matt has helped me learn to 'tone it down' as my dad used to ask me to do. With his help, I think I've mastered the art of appearing to be a not very masculine man, but several steps up the ladder from where I was before."

"You shouldn't change who you are. You're you. I mean, I love you the way you are."

Kurt kissed him. "Thank you. Matt isn't trying to change me. He always tells me I don't need to change who I am, but I need to be able to present myself as a believable masculine character with ease. There just aren't that many lead roles for gay men. There's the quirky best gay, there's the outgoing flaming gay who's the butt of a lot of the jokes, and there's the gay hairdresser, fashion designer, interior designer – all small roles. My dad told me if there weren't roles for guys like me that I should create them. But that's a long way off. In order to get someone to take a play or musical I write seriously, I need more training because I'm not currently skilled enough to do a good job. But in order to get more training and get more experience, I have to be able to get roles."

"I get that. But don't let the roles you want to get define who you actually are, okay? Because you're amazing the way you are." Sebastian turned towards Kurt and kissed him, slowly and gently, but with the heat building.

They paused to take a breath and Sebastian lifted his arm for Kurt to scoot into his side and they just held each other.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Is the reason you don't want to tell people about living here because you're afraid of what they'll think of your father or what they'll think of you?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well, you've only told Nick and Jeff and you asked them to keep it quiet. I guess I'm just wondering why that is now. You have plenty of money to do things with people now. You're making around $400-500 a month now. Going out to eat or to the movies with people wouldn't be a problem. So, they wouldn't ever have to know that you didn't have any money last semester. They could just be left to assume whatever about why you didn't do anything with anyone last semester."

"I think it's a lot less thought out than you seem to think it is. Keeping to myself and not involving anyone in my life is my default setting at this point. I told you it's how I kept people just close enough to be friendly and just far enough away that they never found out anything personal."

"So, it's not because you're embarrassed to be my boyfriend?"

"Oh, God, no." He turned so he could look Kurt in the eyes. "No, not at all. I didn't even consider that. Really, there's very little thought I've put into the way I act at school. It's such a well-used mask that it slips on and fits perfectly without me even having to adjust it. It's like 'school me'. 'School me' does his work, turns it in on time, makes good grades, works hard, keeps people close enough to have people willing to work with me on projects or be my partner in something, but who only talks about non-personal topics during any preparation on these projects. The private schools I went to were my safe haven. I got to eat three times a day, I had clothes to wear, and I had activities to participate in, like singing and dancing. I got to be a kid at school - a well-guarded kid, but a kid. During the two months I went home every summer, I had to keep my guard up tight. I could never seem desperate for the money I needed. I couldn't look too scroungy because desperate and scroungy meant low-class and not good enough to do the work I needed so desperately. I had to pull off acting like I wanted to learn to do the jobs and that I was a bored middle-class kid with too much time on my hands, not a kid who hadn't had dinner the night before or breakfast that morning because his mother or her 'friends' ate the food that he had bought. So, I've worn the 'school' mask and the 'public persona' mask for so long that it's just there in those situations. I have to actively take it off. I have to actively try to incorporate the real me into those situations. If you pretend something long enough, it becomes hard to remember who you are. When I'm with you, you see the real me. I'm working to let others close, but it doesn't come naturally."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being yourself with me." Kurt kissed him. "How about we leave it at this? I'm proud to be your boyfriend. I love you. If and when you want to invite anyone from Dalton to come here and spend the evening, the day, or the weekend with us, I'm okay with that. We can use the inflatable mattress and whoever comes can sleep on it if they stay overnight. From my perspective you can tell anyone you want to. If there's ever an event at Dalton for family members, please know that I will do whatever I can to be there and Carole and Dad would too."

"Alright." Sebastian had known, but hearing the words made him feel good.

"Have you seen _Lilo and Stitch_?"

"No."

Kurt kissed him untangled himself and got up. He loaded the DVD in the player, turned the TV on and went back to the bed. He snuggled back up with Sebastian and hit play.

Not long after it ended, they were called down to dinner.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Finn was absent from dinner. Carole said that had gone to Rachel's to eat.

"Those are nice flowers Dad got for you."

"Oh, those aren't mine, they were delivered this morning when you were gone. I thought you'd see them and the card when you ate lunch, but you must have eaten in the kitchen."

"We did."

"I thought Sebastian was being sneaky and had them delivered so he could surprise you when you two got back from work," she said.

"Nope. They aren't from Sebastian."

Burt asked, "What do you mean they aren't from Sebastian? Why would you see someone else? Wait why aren't you trying to hide that they're from someone else?"

"I don't know who they're from. Sebastian already knows about it. The cards started arriving on Wednesday. They were stuffed into my locker through the slots. One came in the mail yesterday too. They don't say anything except 'From your Secret Admirer' where the signature on a card would be."

"So this is the… fifth day in a row you've gotten a card? And flowers this time?" Burt asked.

"Yep. The first day I thought it was a practical joke. You know put a lovey-dovey Valentine's card in the single gay kid's locker."

"But you're not single," Burt pointed out.

"But Sebastian doesn't go to McKinley, so not that many people know about him. I just thought it was a dumb joke, and ignored it. But I don't really know what to think now. Maybe someone lost a bet or it's a dare. You know, I dare you to send a card to the gay kid for a week before Valentine's Day. I don't know. But they don't say anything creepy or threatening. They don't say anything at all, so I'm just ignoring it. You can put the flowers in your room if you want. I don't want them. Or you can give them to Finn to give to Rachel."

"We're going to have dinner at the Berry's on Valentine's Day, just so the three of you know we won't be home," Carole said.

"I'll be at the 'Sugar Shack', which is what Sugar is calling Breadstix for her Valentine's Day party," Sam said.

Kurt felt bad for him. Sam was such a nice guy and he'd had the worst luck with girls.

"I'm surprised you're still here, Sebastian," Burt said.

"Oh, I started staying Sundays and heading to school after I get up on Monday mornings. Kurt gets up a 6:00 everyday, so I just put my uniform on and drive back on Monday mornings now."

Burt smiled and nodded.

Once they finished eating, the three guys cleared the table and did the dishes, which took longer than it should have due to the fact that the three of them were horsing around and getting soap foam all over each other and singing made up lyrics about doing household tasks instead of focusing on getting the job doing efficiently.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian packed up his suitcase and left his uniform in the closet.

"I'm going to go put this in the car." He leaned over and kissed Kurt, who was reading a book. He smiled in response.

Sebastian texted Sam to meet him downstairs. He was in the living room when Sebastian came back inside.

"What's up?"

"Please keep an eye on Kurt tomorrow and Tuesday. I don't like the whole secret admirer thing with the history of how he's been treated at that school."

"Me neither. I'll watch out for him."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They headed back upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Share one with me?"

Kurt took the bite he was offered. "You can take the rest back with you."

Sebastian put the lid back on the container and sat it on the dresser near the door. "Shower?"

"Sure."

Afterwards, Kurt turned some instrumental music on and climbed into bed. "Big spoon or little spoon?"

"Mmm. Neither. I want to be your body pillow." He lifted his arm and let Kurt get comfortable and they talked and talked, cuddled up, limbs all intertwined.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After enough kisses to nearly make Sebastian late to first period, he finally left. Kurt shut the door behind him and headed to the kitchen to eat breakfast. He sat and thought about Valentine's Day since Sebastian was going to be in Westerville. He hoped that Sebastian would like what he had hidden in his suitcase. He didn't bring it up over the weekend because he didn't want Sebastian to feel pressured since he didn't think that Valentine's Day was such a big deal in France.

He felt better after talking about why Sebastian still wasn't interacting much at school. Maybe he'd be okay with inviting Nick and Jeff over sometime.

He headed upstairs and got ready for school. He read a bit in the book he'd been reading before he left for school. He locked their door, knocked on Sam's door to let him know he was leaving, Sam came out, and they headed for school.

He opened his locker to find no card. He hoped that meant the whole thing was over. He took the books he needed and headed to class. In third period, he received a pass summoning him to Coach Sue's office during fourth period, which was after lunch.

At lunch, Sam had sat with him and the rest of the Glee guys sat down because Sam was already there. Artie and Rory were debating over who was going to get Sugar to be their date to Sugar's party that he didn't know much about other than that Sam was going. Sugar's dad had reserved the whole restaurant so that Sugar could throw a party. And no one single could go, which made him wonder about why Sam said he was going.

While everyone was talking, a Gorillagram showed up for Kurt. He took the stuffed gorilla holding balloons and the card, assuming this was just continuation of the secret admirer.

"Will you tell me who my secret admirer is?" Kurt asked the gorilla making the delivery.

All he got was the gorilla shaking its head as a response. The gorilla turned to leave the cafeteria. Sam stood up immediately. Kurt looked at him.

"I'm going to grab some more milk," he said, trying to think of something to say quickly.

Kurt turned back to the conversation and listened to Puck brag about how he was bringing all of the girls from the sorority where he worked cleaning the pool.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

To Sebastian: Its Krofsky.

From Sebastian: Oh, great. Thanks for telling me. At least we know and can do something about this. I'll text you after Warblers rehearsal.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam came back a few minutes later with a carton of white milk and chocolate milk.

Kurt gave him a funny look.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm going to grow more. It just sounded good." Sam smiled and downed both milks in quick succession.

Kurt laughed at him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt had dropped off the balloons and stuffed animal in Miss Pillsbury's office before lunch ended when she wasn't there. He put the card in his locker in a book, like he had before. He closed his locker and headed toward Coach Sue's office. He stood outside her office and took a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in."

Kurt stepped inside, shut the door behind him, and sat in the chair that she was pointing to.

"I thought about what you said and what Sebastian said. I also found out that he's the lead singer for the Warblers and that he lives with your family."

"Your information is correct. He's lived with us since before Christmas, so close to 8 weeks now."

"I also wondered why he was living with you, so I did more digging. He's not poor like Sam. On the contrary, his father is mega rich and is a politician."

"Also true. Your point?"

"Why would the son of a prominent rich politician need to move in with your family? I looked into his father and he is a major homophobe. It all made sense."

"What did?"

"Him standing up to me to defend you. He has nothing to lose. He's already lost everything. I had to consider what it would mean to be so young and have the guts to stand up to someone and lose everything for it. But he didn't lose everything did he? He got you."

"He had already lost everything before he had me or a place to go, other than school. So, he didn't do it in some weird scheme to woo me."

"Not what I meant. Anyway. He had a point. Jean would not be proud of the way that I treat the Cheerios. She would have dressed me down and put me in my place gently. I don't know how to lead any other way. I stepped back that first week when you still came to practice. I let Santana take over practices."

"She leads the way you do, through intimidation and belittling people."

"I'm aware. I'm going to give you a chance. I want you to take over practices for this week. I want to see someone lead the group through inspiration rather than intimidation. You and Sebastian say it can be done. I want to see it in person. If you can get the girls to work just as hard without yelling at them or insulting them, I will change my tactics." She slid his uniforms, still in his backpack across the desk.

"And if I say 'no'?"

"Then I will continue the way I always have and I will consider this to be my proof that you're wrong – that you're all talk and no proof."

"What about Santana? She will not take kindly to me being put in charge."

"She'll cooperate."

"Fine. I still will only wear the uniform on varsity game days and I don't want to cheer for baseball. And I won't travel with the travel team unless you stay close enough to keep the harassment at bay. I will not subject myself to their vicious words any more."

"There are only two away basketball games left this coming weekend."

"I'm aware. I've attended the away games to support Sam. I've just been in the crowd, blending in."

"If you're successful, you'll stay and cheer with us for Regionals, and Nationals if we win Regionals."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"A question, I suppose."

"If you treat the squad respectfully, I will stay and cheer. I don't have time to cheer for baseball though. The games are in the afternoons, which I did not know since I'm not a baseball fan. I work every day from 4-7. I need the money for college for next year."

"So, if at the end of this week, you have managed to get the squad to work just as hard with your gentle methods, I can expect you to cheer Friday and Saturday night at the last two away games?"

"If you keep the taunting at bay and I can ride to and from the games on my own if I choose to. Friday night will be a test. If I'm taunted, I won't cheer Saturday."

"Deal."

He picked the backpack up and left the office.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He dropped the backpack off in his locker, went to class, showed the pass to his fourth period teacher, and took a seat.

At the end of the day, he headed into the choir room and sat at the back of the room on the right where he had the previous week. Everyone filed in and most of them looked happy to see him. Sam came in and sat down on one side. Tina sat on his other side.

Mr. Schue slipped in right after the bell. "I want to welcome Kurt back to the club. I made the wrong decision in forcing him to choose between his job and the club. As a teacher, it is my job to help teach teens to be responsible and I was remiss in asking Kurt to shirk his responsibilities to attend rehearsals that had not be planned with enough advanced warning. I expect everyone to be respectful of Kurt because it was not his fault that I made the wrong choice."

"So, who's singing the solo then?" Rachel asked. "You said there would be new auditions today."

"Kurt will be singing 'You Are Loved' just as we had been rehearsing before."

"But Mr. Schue, I'm ready to perform," Rachel insisted.

"Berry, we chose Kurt the first time. If you challenge him, he'll just get up and sing the same song he beat you with the last time and we'll just vote for him again. So, why don't we just save time and work on 'I Believe I Can Fly'? Kurt needs to learn the choreography."

Kurt was surprised that Santana was speaking up on his behalf considering that Sue had just handed the Cheerios over to him for the week. He was grateful nonetheless.

They moved to the auditorium and Kurt paid close attention to catch up from missing a few days of rehearsal.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After rehearsal, Puck followed him out to his locker and then to the Navigator.

"Is there something I can do for you, Puck?"

"Just let me ride with you to the shop." He handed his keys to Sam. "Meet us there with my truck."

"Fine. Get in."

Sam shrugged and walked to Puck's truck and got in and headed out of the parking lot.

"Okay, so listen. What Mr. Schue did was a punkass move. Making you pick between Glee and making money for college or whatever. Also, this is from all of the guys, okay?"

"You draw the short stick again? Being forced to talk to me?"

"That was a joke, albeit a bad one. Anyway, the guys all want you to know that we didn't know you hadn't been invited. We all left it up to Finn to invite you and he told us you didn't want to come. That you'd rather go to the girls' sleepovers. Sam straightened us out when he bitched us out for eating all of the food at your house. Finn made it out like your dad was all cool with us hanging out and that since he had plenty of money, that the whole thing was fine. He told us to help ourselves and nothing was off limits. We were just dumb enough to believe him. At first people brought some stuff and pitched in some, but over time, that stopped. He told us you liked to cook and you didn't mind cooking for us whenever you were home. So, we just went with what he said. Sam set us straight on that too. When you came down and bitched me out for asking you to cook for us and then laid into Finn about not buying you and Sebastian dinner, we all began to realize that Finn's story didn't add up and we asked Sam a few days later when Finn wasn't around."

"So, all this time, you thought I didn't want to come, better phrased, you thought I had been invited and had said 'no'? And Finn told you that all of the food in the house was a free-for-all? And he told you that I was more than glad to cook for everyone, even though I didn't participate in the weekend's events?"

"Pretty much. I mean the first several Glee Guys' weekends we had at your new place you were at Dalton, so no one thought anything about you not being there because you didn't go to school with us anymore, but then after you came back, he said you didn't still didn't want to come, even though we were having them at your house."

"Okay."

"None of us actually looked outside to see if your SUV was there, but we knew you were home. What we didn't know was that Finn was supposed to order for the two of you and that you and Sebastian are dating."

"I see. So, why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm tired of being a jackass. Seriously."

"Fine. Even if I believe you, what does this change?"

"The fact that you've thought all this time that we didn't like you or want you around. Finn always made it sound like you didn't want to be around us. That you were too girly to like any of the things we do. I mean your behavior reinforced that. When we'd divide up boys against the girls, you'd always try to sing with them."

"I already felt unwanted and excluded by then. I just went along with what I saw. You all didn't want me with you. And you're saying that you all acted that way because Finn told you that I didn't want to do things with the guys."

"Well, you seemed to like him the best out of all of us, so when he was supposed to invite you and he told us you didn't want to come, we just believed him."

"I see. A circular problem."

"When all of us got together, minus Finn, Sam pointed out that the Wii and all of the games for it are yours and that you're good at them. He said he found out this fall when he moved in with you guys and you kicked his butt at MarioKart."

Kurt laughed.

"He also said that he taught you how to play several of the Xbox games and that you were good at it. He said that you were the one training him at the shop."

"That's true."

"He pretty much just kicked our asses up one side and down the other about the way we've treated you. Stuff about how the clothes you like have nothing to do with how masculine you are or how strong you are and that we should be glad that you're a pacifist because he's seen your biceps and you could hold your own in a fight any time you chose to defend yourself."

Kurt laughed again.

"So, anyway, that's about as close to an apology as I've got. We'll work on getting our heads out of our asses and not treating you like a girl."

"Maybe you should stop treating girls like you do."

"Another thought, but we'll work on you first."

Kurt laughed. "Fine. I don't think there will be any more Glee Guys' weekends at our place since Finn is getting married. But if there are, I might consider kicking your butts at MarioKart."

"I'd like to see you try."

"And for the record, this is not a blanket apology. You can only apologize for your own actions. If any of the rest of the guys feel this way, then they need to tell me themselves. I have to get inside." Kurt pulled into the employee area of the lot.

"Got it. One last question. How long have you two been dating?"

"A little over three weeks."

"So, he moved in before you were dating."

"He did. I thought he was going back to Paris at the end of the school year, so I didn't ask him out. Once he decided to stay, I asked him out. I really have to go."

They both got out and Kurt locked the doors and headed into the building.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam was already changed when Kurt got into the lounge.

"I'll be quick."

"It's fine."

Kurt came back out. "According to Puck, you 'kicked the Glee guys' asses up one side and down the other.'"

"That's true. I got fed up with the way they were treating you. I had figured out that Finn was making up stuff, but I finally pieced it all together."

"Well, thanks for defending me."

"Any time. So, what are you teaching me today?"

"Spark plugs."

"Sounds thrilling."

"Actually they sound awful when they go bad."

Sam laughed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was getting frustrated. He had sent Sam numerous texts, but he hadn't responded.

He called Kurt.

"_Good afternoon, mon étoile. How did your day go?"'_

"_It's one of my weirder days."_

"_How so?"_

"_I had a Gorillagram delivered to me at lunch. I met with Sue, who wants me to prove to her that the girls can be trained gently by running practices the rest of the week, Mr. Schue actually admitted to doing the wrong thing, and Puck apologized for several things."_

"_That is a very odd day indeed. What is a Gorillagram?"_

"_Oh, it's when a person dressed in a gorilla costume delivers something to someone like balloons or flowers."_

"_I see."_

"_I was given a small plush gorilla holding balloons and a card. The card is in my bag, and I left the other items in Miss Pillsbury's office when she wasn't in there. So, who knows their fate. I knew they weren't from you, so I didn't want them. And as I mentioned, I'm not asking for you to do that type of thing. I'd rather spend our money on another trip like when we went to the museum in Toledo or when we went to Cincinnati."_

"_I remember. Why don't you give the card to Sam and let him look it over in case it says something mean. I don't want you to have to see that. And then he can just burn it like the others."_

"_That's fine with me. I'm already taken and not interested in whoever is sending the stuff. I just hope that it stops after Valentine's Day."_

"_Me too. So, you're back in Glee. What happened with the solo?"_

"_It's mine."_

"_Excellent."_

"_I will call you later tonight, okay? I love you so much and I miss you. I have to help Sam with this last step of changing the spark plugs on this car."_

"_Okay. I love you too. Call me later."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

On their way back home, Kurt told Sam where the card was so he could get it out. Sam pulled Kurt's satchel to the front seat and got the card out. He put the bag back in the backseat. He opened the card and looked at it.

"So?"

"So, nothing identifiable. I'll burn it when we get home."

"Thanks."

Kurt turned the radio on and they listened to music the rest of the way home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam sent a text to Sebastian: It said 4 Kurt 2 meet him at B-stix at 5:30 tmrw.

Sebastian called Sam. "Well, that's not happening."

"I think that you and I need to meet with him and let him know that you and Kurt are dating and get him to drop this."

"I was already planning to be in Lima tomorrow afternoon to surprise Kurt. I'll go home to start on my plan, then meet you at Breadstix at 5:20, but somehow you have to ditch work for tomorrow afternoon."

"No problem. I'll get someone to take me to Breadstix. I'm supposed to be there at 6:00 anyway."

"See you then."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt helped Carole make dinner while Sam went upstairs to get started on his homework.

Kurt started peeling potatoes. "Coach Sue wants me to train the Cheerios the rest of the week"

"Why?"

"To prove that it can be done without insulting them."

"Unusual, but it's Sue."

"So, I'll be going to practice every morning this week starting tomorrow."

"Alright. Can you slice those up thinly now, please?"

"Sure." Kurt got a knife and cutting board out. "And she wants me to cheer the final away games this weekend. I told her that if she kept people from trash-talking me, that I would go, but if she is unsuccessful at stopping it Friday night, that I won't go on Saturday. I also told her that I won't cheer for baseball because the games are in the afternoons and I have to work."

"And she still wants you to do this?"

"I know. It's super weird, but I've long given up on anything she does actually making sense. Where do you want me to put the slices?"

"Oh, in that casserole dish, please. That's actually for tomorrow. I just won't have time to get anything made to take with us to the Berry's by the time we're supposed to be there."

Kurt nodded and started putting the slices in the dish.

"I don't know whether Rachel is vegan or vegetarian right now, but I know Finn loves the casserole, so I'm taking it. It's vegetarian at least." She continued to work on the sauce while he finished slicing all of the potatoes. After he had gotten them all sliced, she poured the mixture she had been heating on the stove into the casserole dish with the sliced potatoes, and then stuck the dish in the oven. "Tonight, we're having spaghetti and broccoli. It's almost done. Why don't you text Finn and Sam and tell them to come set the table? And I'll go get Burt."

Kurt pulled out his phone and texted Finn and Sam.

A few minutes later, they were both downstairs. Sam helped Finn set the table. Kurt got the pasta out and mixed everything together and put it in a large serving bowl. He put the broccoli in another bowl and carried the bowls to the table.

Finn took glasses of water to the table for everyone. By the time the table was ready, Burt had come in as well. The rest of them sat down together and served themselves.

"Do I have to eat broccoli?"

"Yes, Finn. Please stop asking. You need to eat whatever is served."

"Fine."

Burt started to ask Kurt something, but then stopped himself. "I'll be taking a late flight to DC tomorrow evening. I won't be here next weekend."

Everyone nodded. Dinner proceeded quietly. Once they had finished eating, Carole indicated that Sam and Finn needed to do the cleanup. Kurt went upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Burt went up to Kurt's room just a few minutes after Kurt did. He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Hey, kiddo." He shut the door behind him. "Did you get anything else today from the secret admirer?"

"Yeah, a Gorillagram - a tiny gorilla holding balloons and a card. I left the gorilla and balloons at school. Sam took the card to make sure it didn't say anything nefarious and then he's going to burn it in the fireplace."

"Good deal. It's just weird that someone would go to so much trouble, especially if it's just a joke."

"I'm more worried that it's not a joke at this point. I don't want someone to like me enough to do all of this when I don't know who it is. It's unnerving, not romantic."

"I get that. I'll still be here tomorrow, well, at the shop. If anything goes down at school, just call me and I'll be there to deal with it."

"Alright. Coach Sue asked me back today – to run practices this week. I'll let you know how that goes."

"That woman is crazy."

"I know, Dad. But for whatever reason, she wants me to compete with the team at Regionals and at Nationals, if we make it that far."

"Well, don't let her bully you. You did good standing up to her. Don't let her lure you back in if she hasn't changed."

"I won't. I've stopped looking for validation from outside sources. I'm learning to be stronger. I know I've put up a front of being strong and not letting stuff get to me, but that was all just bravado. I'm working on it being real."

"Good for you. You've grown up and you're becoming your own man."

"Thanks."

"And I think you've found a good guy for yourself this time."

"Me too."

"Well, I'm sure you have homework to do. You call me if there's any problems tomorrow."

"Will do, Dad."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt did his homework, showered, and got ready for bed. He called Sebastian after he had gotten in bed, but he got his voicemail. He hung up and sent a text.

To Sebastian: _Sorry I missed you if you already went to sleep. Check the interior pocket in the top of your suitcase tomorrow morning. There's something in there for you. Good night, mon joyau. I love you._

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Sebastian's alarm went off at 6:00 and he panicked. He picked up his phone and realized that he had somehow missed Kurt's phone call and text. He thought about it. He had been down in the computer lab printing something. He came back and worked on his history paper, took a shower, and went to bed still expecting Kurt to call. But he didn't even think to check if he had called while he was gone.

He pulled his suitcase out and unzipped the interior pocket and pulled out an envelope. Inside it there was a handwritten poem and a flash drive. He turned his laptop on and read the poem while he waited for it to start up.

À Sebastian, mon précieux joyau caché ,

I love everything about you:

Your beautiful green eyes that saw no love -

now sparkle as your love shines through them.

Your diligent hands that worked hard and stayed strong -

when circumstances could have pushed you to give up.

Your strong legs that helped you climb uphill your whole life -

now help you walk and dance through a new chapter in your story.

Your strong arms that wrap me up and hold me tight -

and keep me close all through the night.

Your chest that holds your beating heart that keeps the man I love alive -

where I can rest my head on days when I am weary.

Your voice that brings joy to those who hear you sing -

and shares with me the secrets of your heart.

Your shoulders that once bore the weight of the world -

now invite me to wrap my arms around them and keep you close.

Your keen mind that focuses and memorizes and is sharp and witty -

has finally found a place where it can rest and recharge.

Your heart that once feared it would forever remain unloved -

overflows with joy that you deserve so very much.

Happy Valentines Day!

Love, Kurt

He put the flash drive into the USB port and clicked on the only file. It was Kurt singing "Never Gonna Let You Down". The second verse really stuck out.

_Close_

_I will hold you close_

_You won't be alone anymore_

_If you need someone to believe in_

_If you're reaching for a hand to guide you home_

_Just take my hand and I won't let you go_

_I hope you know_

_I'm never gonna let you down_

_I'm always gonna build you up_

_And when you're feeling lost_

_I will always find you, love_

_I'm never gonna walk away_

_I'm always gonna have your back_

_And if nothing else you can always count on that_

_When you need me_

_I promise I will never let you down_

When the music stopped, Kurt said, "I love you, Bas."

By then, Sebastian was crying – happy tears. He picked up his phone and texted Kurt.

From Sebastian: _I found the card. Thank you. I loved the poem and the song. It was beautiful. Look in my dresser drawer. I left something for you. I love you, mon étoile._

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt heard his phone ping right as he was opening the door to his room to go downstairs. He stopped and pulled it out of his satchel. He read the text from Sebastian and reached over to open the dresser drawer. Inside, he found an unlined index card with small red hearts around it as a border. He smiled because Sebastian had used the index cards and markers he found in the desk, not spending a lot of money on an expensive card like Kurt had asked, but he still wanted to do something cute. He looked at what it said.

À ma chère étoile du nord,

Je t'aime beaucoup, mon amour.

Tu es l' homme le plus fou pour m'avoir choisi.

Mais j'aime ta folie.

Chaque fois que tu me regardes, mon coeur bat plus vite.

Ton sourire me rend heureux.

Ton rire illumine mon monde.

Où que tu sois est chez moi.

Joyeuse saint valentine mon amoureux.

Bas

After he finished reading the poem, he had a huge smile on his face. He texted Sebastian back.

To Sebastian: _Merci, mon joyau. Je t'aime boucoup_.

From Sebastian: _Moi aussi._

Kurt took a photo of the index card so he could look at it throughout the day without it getting damaged. He put his phone back in his satchel, stepped out into the hall, locked the door, and went downstairs.

Carole was already up and in the kitchen when he got downstairs.

"I'm surprised to see you up so early."

"I traded shifts so I could go to the Berry's tonight."

"I remembered the dinner. I just didn't think about the time." Kurt still had a huge smile on his face.

"You're awfully smiley."

"Sebastian left me a poem in our room. He's a sweetie." Kurt grabbed a couple of packs of trail mix. "I have to get to school to see what on earth Coach Sue expects me to do. I'll see you whenever you get home from the Berry's."

"Probably around 11:00. Burt and I are going to go out by ourselves for a while after the dinner. Dinner with the four of them will not exactly be romantic."

Kurt laughed. "Definitely not." He headed for the door, grabbing is coat on the way out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt opened his locker to find it devoid of a card. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or tense since the day before the card appeared later in a much more public way. He left his coat in his locker and headed to the gym, where he found Coach Sue waiting for him. He went over to the bleachers and sat next to her.

"I'm here, but I have no idea what it is that you want me to do. I haven't been at practice in nearly two weeks. I have no idea what's been practiced while I've been gone."

"Well, I'm going to have them perform the routine with the just the background music so that you can see what they're doing. Anything you notice out of sync needs to be corrected. We'll start with that."

"Alright. Why are they practicing with no words. Why isn't Santana singing?"

"You'll see." She picked up the bullhorn, stood, and yelled, "Places!" A couple of minutes later, she turned the music on, and the squad began to perform. Kurt watched as carefully as he could. When they finished, they stayed in place awaiting further direction.

Sue sat next to him again. "So?"

"There's too much going on for me to know what to tell them to do since I'm not familiar with what anyone is supposed to be doing."

"Well, that's one thing you've learned already. Being the coach means I have to know each person's part exactly."

"I knew that. That's why I asked how I was supposed to be of help since I don't know what everyone else is supposed to be doing."

Coach Sue turned the bullhorn on. "Again!" she said loudly, but not rudely. They reset and she started the music again.

After the second run-through, Kurt had something to say. "Okay, from what I can see, the girls in the second and third rows are off by a quarter to a half beat because they are watching the girls in the front row to know what to do rather than knowing the routine perfectly themselves.

"So, fix that."

Kurt stood up and took the bullhorn. "Would all of the girls in the front row, please come sit on the first row of the bleachers. Everyone else, reset and do it again, please."

Coach Sue started the music again. This time the performance was practically a disaster. Sue had to sit on her hands not to grab the bullhorn from Kurt.

He stood up again. "That run-through was so I could figure out what was making the group look out of sync. We have our answer. The second and third rows are watching the girls in front of them and following them rather than knowing exactly what to do on their own. That throws the piece of out sync. Everyone has to move at the same time for it to look right. So, we're going to run through the choreography twice with each of the girls in the front taking two of the other girls and spreading out and working until the second and third rows know the moves without watching someone else."

The girls didn't move at first because no one had screamed or anything. But eventually one of the girls got up and took two girls with her and the other front row girls followed suit. He gave them 10 minutes to work on it.

"Alright, front row, back on the bench. Everyone else reset and run it again, please."

Coach Sue restarted the music. The run-through went much better than it did the first time they had done it without the first row to watch.

"Much better. Starting immediately, we will rotate who is in the front row during practices for the sections where we stand in lines and perform identical moves. This will prevent anyone from getting too used to being able to watch someone else and follow instead of knowing it themselves. Run it again. This time first row girls, move to the back row. When the music starts the second time, shift so that the second row moves to the front and the front moves to the back. Go."

Coach Sue restarted the music again, and then a second time.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"Well, they've improved quite a bit in 20 minutes with no yelling. It's a start."

"Where are Santana and Brittany?"

"Working on the choreography for the three of you in the dance studio."

"Three of us?"

"You three will be singing this song while performing in front of these girls. There's more to the song, obviously. This was just the part they kept screwing up so badly I wanted to pull my hair out."

"So, what else do you want them to do?"

"Keep running it while you go to the dance studio."

"You can't yell at them while I'm gone."

"Fine. Tell them what to do before you leave."

He picked the bullhorn back up and turned it on.

"I'm going to meet Santana and Brittany. Keep working on this section rotating the rows until you all get it right. I'll come check on you in 20 minutes."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

It didn't take Kurt long to figure out why Santana wasn't upset about the arrangement. She had Madonna's role in the trio. Kurt and Brittany were her back up dancers and singers. Santana showed Kurt the original 1983 video of the song.

"So, in an homage to this music video, you and Britt will wear half of your normal outfits. Kurt we're having one of the sleeveless shirts made to fit you. You'll need to go to the shop to be fitted. Brittany will wear the tracksuit pants. I'll be in my regular skirt."

"Alright," Kurt said. "I hope the shop is open on Saturdays."

"Just call and find out. So, we've based the choreography off this video. You and Britt will actually sing unlike her backup dancers. It will be three-part harmony. We'll work on that later. So, Britt and I will make a video of me dancing your part while Britt does her own part. That way you can work on it at home. Just so you know, my part is pretty similar. Try to learn your part by Thursday morning. I'll give you the recording in Glee this afternoon."

"Okay. I want to watch the two of you do it once now, if possible so I can have some idea of what's going on while the girls in the gym are doing what I saw them practicing."

Santana started the music and she and Brittany did the dance while singing along quietly.

"Thanks. I have to go back to the gym."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went back into the gym and sat next to Coach Sue. "An 80s Madonna song?"

"There were rules implemented on our song selection for Regionals. If the song performed has vocals, recorded or live, the song cannot be overtly sexual or contain foul language."

"Oh, wow, that eliminates pretty much everything with a good dance beat that has been popular in the last five years."

"Yeah, I know. I had to dig through greatest hits to find something even remotely suitable for the theme, which is 'Celebrating Life'."

"Well, I think there won't be many groups with songs with vocals this year. And the few that try it will end up singing 'Celebration'."

"I think that was their goal – to prevent us from singing and kicking everyone's butts. But it won't work. We're going to do this song and it's going to rock and you three are going to kill the vocals."

"Have they gotten any better while I was gone?"

"Yes."

He picked up the bullhorn. "Alright, ladies, let me see you wow me. Reset."

Coach Sue started the music once more.

"Well, that was significantly better than it was 45 minutes ago. Don't you think?" Kurt asked.

"It is. One point for the Hummel Happy method of coaching. Send them to class."

"Good job ladies. Much better than the first time. We'll work on it more. Practice is over." He handed the bullhorn back to Coach Sue. "Well, I've got to go to class and I have a hugely long piece to learn by Thursday morning, so says Santana." Kurt picked up his backpack and headed off to first period.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt stopped by his locker after first period and found another card. Obviously he arrived earlier than the card deliverer since he had gone to Cheerios practice. He stuffed the card in a book and left for class.

They worked on "You are Loved" during Glee and it went well considering that they hadn't practiced it in nearly two weeks. As soon as practice finished, he made a beeline for the Navigator. Sam didn't follow him, but he got a text about two minutes later.

From Sam: Gotta stay 2 practice 4 Sugar's party. See ya later.

Kurt pulled out and headed to the shop.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian left Dalton as soon as he grabbed the only homework he actually HAD to turn in the next day and a clean uniform to wear the next day. He hurried out to the parking lot and headed to Lima.

He pulled into the Hummel driveway at 4:50, giving him just 20 minutes to work on his plan at home before he had to leave to go meet Sam and Bear Cub at Breadstix. He took his stuff up to their room, changed quickly, and looked to make sure that what he had asked for was in the refrigerator, and it was. He set the island with a tablecloth and the place settings. He brewed some tea and cleaned the vegetables before he left.

He pulled in the lot at 5:15 and saw Sam inside sitting in a booth already. He went in and sat down with him. They waited and at 5:20, Dave came in wearing the Gorillagram costume. He looked around and saw Sebastian and Sam and went to sit down with them. He put the head down in the seat next to him along with the heart-shaped box of chocolates that he brought with him.

The waitress walked up to them. "We're not serving meals right now. We're closing in 30 minutes for a private party."

"We know," Sam said. "We're supposed to be here for the party, we're just a little early. How about some drinks while we wait?"

"Sure. What do you want?"

They gave their drink orders and she walked away.

"You texted me to meet you here at 5:20. Why?"

"To meet you and keep you from making HIM have to let you down easy. He doesn't deserve to be put in that position, Dave," Sam said.

"It would never be a healthy situation for him to get involved with someone who bullied him as badly as you did. It sucks that you like him and he can't reciprocate that, but put the shoe on the other foot, Bear Cub. If someone had threatened to do to you what you threatened to do to him would you ever want them to even speak to you?"

Sam spoke again, "He's already been more than forgiving by not holding it against you and by being civil to you. Don't make him have to let you down too. That's just too far to push his kindness."

"How did you know?"

"I followed you out of school on Monday." Sam answered. "I saw you get into YOUR truck that I recognized even though you didn't take the costume head off before you got to the edge of the parking lot. I told Sebastian. He texted you to meet since I don't have your number."

"So he's not coming."

"No, he doesn't know about this meeting at all. I was the one that read yesterday's card and saw the note in it to meet here at 5:30."

Sebastian said, "Don't look that way, but there's a guy that keeps looking over here. Very interested in you in particular. If you're wanting to stay on the DL, I'd suggest you let me do the talking. After we get our drinks and drink them, we're leaving and I'm doing all of the talking on the way out."

"Got it," Dave said.

Their drinks came and they drank them. They each put a few dollars on the table and got up.

"Karofsky?"

"Nick."

"What are you doing here?"

"Ah, we need him to deliver some stuff this evening, but some of it is not on the list of things we could OFFICIALLY choose from." Sebastian winked. "So, he's going to deliver them with the officially sanctioned box of chocolates in his hand during the private party here that starts in about 30 minutes."

"Right. You and your girlfriends have fun with that," Nick said and nodded.

Sebastian laughed and herded Dave and Sam out the door.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Follow us to our car. We're going to pretend to move something to your truck," Sam said.

Sam opened the back of the car and took his jacket off and put it in the seat and then put his hands underneath it like it was covering a gift box. He walked with it like that to Dave's truck. Dave opened the passenger side and Sam reversed the process, pulling his coat back out afterward and putting it back on.

"Get in your truck," he said with is back to the window. "He's probably watching. Sit in there with the head on until he leaves and then wait 10 more minutes and go home. And think of a good reason why you resorted to delivering Gorillagrams for money in case the dude hassles you or spreads rumors." Sam walked back to the car and got in.

"Drive down a few blocks and I'll get out and walk back. I'm supposed to be here at 6:00 anyway. I'll get a ride home after the party."

"Alright. Do you think he's going to be okay? I mean the guy sitting there looked like the troublemaking gossip type."

"Hopefully. I told him to think of a good reason he needed money badly enough to stoop to delivering Gorillagrams, just to cover his butt."

Sebastian pulled over and Sam got out.

Sebastian texted Dave before he drove off.

From Sebastian: If Nick asks why you needed money badly enough to stoop to delivering Gorillagrams, tell him you broke the remote for your truck again and you needed to replace it without your dad finding out. Those things cost around $80.

To Sebastian: Good idea. I didn't know they were so expensive, but it's a good reason. Sneaky enough to be believable. I'm deleting these texts. I'll call you sometime.

From Sebastian: That's fine. Stay safe. Jackasses like him like to make trouble. He had it written all over his body posture that he was trying to get something on you.

To Sebastian: He's on the football team at my new school and he's a jackass extraordinaire.

From Sebastian: Keep your story straight.

Sebastian texted Kurt next.

From Sebastian: Please go straight home from work, there's a surprise for you.

To Sebastian: I told you that you didn't need to do anything like that, but I'll go right home at 7:00. I love you.

From Sebastian: I love you too.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian hung his coat up and got to work quickly on their dinner. He cooked the chicken, the asparagus, and the baby peas so they'd all be done at 7:15. He found some candles and put them on the island and lit them at 7:10. He plated the food and covered the plates with another plate and quickly washed the pans he had used. He heard the front door open and sat down at the island, knowing that the smell would lead Kurt to the kitchen.

He came around the corner and his eyes lit up. "Bas! You're here. You made me dinner?"

"I did." He pressed the playlist he had chosen on his phone.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian and hugged him. "Thank you." He walked over the sink and washed his hands.

Sebastian removed the inverted plates and put them in the sink. "Let's eat." He kissed Kurt gently and took his hand and led him back to the island.

"It looks delicious." He cut a piece of the chicken off and ate it. "It's really good. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They ate in silence, but kept looking at each other and smiling. Once they finished Kurt grabbed their plates and put them, along with the two in the sink, into the dishwasher. Sebastian grabbed their utensils and glasses and put them in.

He pulled Kurt in close and started dancing with him around the room. After a couple of songs, he grabbed his phone, turned the music off, and led them upstairs.

When Kurt opened their bedroom door, he was greeted with a soft red glow and instrumental music playing. Sebastian pushed their door shut and locked it. Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and resumed the slow dancing from downstairs.

"It's lovely. You're a sneaky, wonderful boyfriend. It's perfect."

Sebastian held him close and swayed with the music. "I'm glad you think so. I wanted us to be together for our first Valentine's Day."

"I did too. I just didn't want to ask you to drive all the way home on a school night. You have homework don't you?"

"Some, but we can dance a little longer, then we can be good students for an hour or so, and then shower and snuggle?"

"Sounds like an excellent plan."

"I loved the song you recorded for me."

"I meant it."

"I know. I want to put it on my phone while I'm home."

"Okay." Kurt kissed him. "Shall we get the homework part over with?"

"Sure." Sebastian kissed him back gently. He let Kurt go and turned the overhead light on so they could see to do their work.

"First, come sit in the chair and I'm going to sit in your lap for our first Valentine's picture together."

Sebastian looked truly happy as he thought about how he hoped it was their first of many. Kurt leaned back and they wrapped their arms around each other and Kurt took the selfie shots.

"Kiss me?" Kurt pressed the button as they faced each other and kissed.

They looked at the result and smiled. "That one is just for us."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

By the time Sam, Burt, and Carole got home, Kurt and Sebastian were wrapped up in bed, snuggling, limbs entwined, sound asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Kurt mostly stood with Coach Sue during the practice Wednesday morning, serving as an interpreter of sorts. He told the girls what to do, being kind rather than mean. And he observed, carefully. Once he knew what it was they were supposed to be doing on the section they were practicing, he moved away from Sue and interacted with them personally demonstrating what it was they either should or should not be doing. They ran the section one last time after his final group of corrections.

"Better?" He asked Sue.

"Yes. Hummel Happy Method - 2. Be sure to know your dance tomorrow morning. Santana wants to run it just the three of you and then come in and do it in here."

"I'll do my best."

"You see that you do." Sue walked off.

Kurt headed to class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When he got to Glee that afternoon, he learned that the girls knew their number well enough to practice it without Sue watching them and that they guys didn't have to stay. He leaned over to Sam and said, "Either come with me now, or you'll need to find another ride to the shop. Since we don't have to stay, I'm going to run to the shop where I have to get fitted for a different Cheerios top for Regionals."

"Alright. Let's go."

When they got in the Navigator, Sam asked, "Why did you go back? I thought you were done with Sue and her nonsense."

"I like to cheer. I just don't like to be yelled at. So, she's not yelling and I'm cheering. Santana, Brittany, and I are the featured singers for Regionals. I have to get a sleeveless top like the girls wear. Britt and I will be wearing the track pants and just Santana will be wearing the skirt. I have an entire routine to learn tonight when I get home."

"That's a lot of pressure. An entire routine in one evening?"

"Well, I had last evening to work on it too, but Sebastian came home for the evening. He made me dinner. It was nice. How was Sugar's party?"

"It was fine. We sang, we danced around, and it was nice enough. No alcohol, so there weren't any unfortunate make-outs during Spin the Bottle or anything. Puck really did bring a whole group of girls with him. I ended up dancing with a few of them. The gorilla showed up delivering a couple of Gorillagrams."

"Well, I hope whoever sent them to me stops."

"I'm going to tell you something. The card that came with the Gorillagram actually said something on the inside besides 'Your Secret Admirer'."

"What?"

"It had a time and location to meet the secret admirer, but I didn't tell you. I hope you're not mad at me."

"I'm not mad, but why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because I didn't want your curiosity to get the best of you and you end up in a bad situation."

"I'm assuming this time and date have passed?"

"Yes. Sebastian and I went to the location and told him you weren't interested."

"You were nice, right? I mean like you didn't threaten whoever it was."

"We were nice."

"Alright."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam texted Sebastian while Kurt was in the shop getting measured.

To Sebastian: I told Kurt abt meeting sec adm. Not who tho.

From Sebastian: That's fine. Thanks for letting me know.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian called Dave.

"Bear Cub."

"Sebastian."

"I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"I'm okay. Nick was spreading it around school that I was working as a Gorillagram deliverer, so you were right about that. I went back to Breadstix last night during the party and delivered that box of chocolates and a couple of other things to some random girls. I just left after I handed them to anyone. I figure their boyfriends would be dumb to say it wasn't from them when the girls got excited."

"So, you think Nick was spying on you afterwards."

"Just to make sure. It was stupid of me to try to get Kurt to meet in a public place like Breadstix. I thought I was ready to come out big, but I'm not. I've been on pins and needles all day just about being called out for delivering candy in a gorilla suit. If Kurt had met me there, he would have set off Nick's gaydar and he would have started rumors about me. I'd have probably gotten the crap kicked out of me today instead of just being made fun of."

"Well, Lima's not really the place to come out."

"Now's not the time to come out. I told Kurt I just wanted to make it through my senior year and I almost blew that myself. I've got three and a half months. Then I can move out. Even if I get into college, I can't pay for it on my own. I have a lot of thinking to do. I need to get away from here. What were you doing in Lima on Valentine's Day anyway?"

"You won't like my answer."

"I don't like a lot of things about my life. What's one more?"

"I was in Lima because Kurt's my boyfriend now and I went to make him a surprise dinner for Valentine's Day."

"You're right. I don't like your answer. How long have you been dating?"

"Close to four weeks."

"I see."

"I would have told you the exact same thing last night, even if we weren't dating. You can't expect someone you bullied badly enough to make him change schools to want to date you. You've got to move on and find someone else. Like you said, you've got three and a half months. Start planning your getaway. Strategize. Find where you can live affordably that's not so homophobic. Meet new people that know nothing about your past and make a fresh start. I know you're sorry about what you did to him, but the best thing for you to do is to let him go and move on. You can't hurt someone that badly and then be in an intimate relationship with them."

"I'll leave him alone. I won't try to interact with him intentionally. If I see him, I'll be nice. I won't tell him the cards were from me."

"Thank you. I won't lie to him though. If he ever flat out asks me who sent them, I will tell him. I'm not going to ruin my relationship with him by lying to him about this."

"I get it. It sucks that you get to be with him."

"Actions have consequences. Don't be a jackass to people in the future. It will make a difference for you personally."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Look, if you need help with Nick or anything, let me know. I've got a lot of schoolwork to catch up on since I drove to Lima yesterday evening and put some of it off."

"Thanks."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

That evening Kurt called Sebastian after he was in bed.

"_Hey, Bas."_

"_Hey. You sound really tired."_

"_I am. I worked on that routine for pretty much two hours straight. Now, I'm really behind on my reading. I'm going to have to read a lot tomorrow. Sam told me about you going to meet the secret admirer. That was very gallant of you. Thank you."_

"_Of course. Even if we weren't dating I would have driven to Lima to go with Sam. I had already planned the evening though. That's how the food I wanted to make was there. I asked Carole to get it when she went shopping."_

"_You are sneaky and sweet. I wish you could be here every night. I sleep better when you're here."_

"_Me too. I'll be there Friday afternoon."_

"_Good."_ Kurt was dozing off.

Sebastian started to sing to him in French. By the time he had finished, he could hear Kurt's rhythmic breathing and he ended the call.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt did his best to do the entire routine. The three of them practiced for a half hour before they went to the gym to practice with the rest of the squad.

Sue called for them to get in position. She started the music and watched them. At the end, she called Kurt over. "It was a mess. Everyone was watching the three of you instead of paying attention and doing what they were supposed to."

Kurt took the bullhorn. "Everyone reset, please." Once they did, he said, "Have a seat." He motioned for Brittany and Santana to get up. "Coach Sue, music please."

The three of them did their routine while everyone else watched.

Kurt took the bullhorn back. "Now, you've seen what we're doing. Don't watch us perform. Do your own choreography. We can't win if you're staring at our backsides instead of dancing and tumbling. Reset, please. Music."

They ran the whole piece again. Kurt looked up and Sue nodded. Kurt motioned for the music to start again. After three times through, it looked a lot better. Kurt motioned for them to all come up and sit near him.

"We have a week and a half to be ready. Do you want to win?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then we need clean practices. By this point, everyone should know what they are doing. We are going to run this one more time and I am going to have Coach Sue film us and send out the recording to everyone. DO NOT under any circumstances let anyone who is not a Cheerio see the video. But you need to watch it at least five times. Pay attention to your own mistakes. Figure out what you are doing wrong and then correct it by tomorrow morning. Reset, please."

Kurt walked to where Sue sat and asked her to record the performance. Once he got back down to his spot, she restarted the music. She recorded them. He called them back up to him. He got them to move in very close and he spoke quietly.

"Please pay close attention and correct your mistakes to the best of your abilities. Coach Sue gave me four days to prove that I could get you to perform better by being kind than she could by yelling at you. If we don't look good tomorrow morning, Monday morning things go back to her yelling at everyone. If you share the video, you'll be cut from the squad."

They nodded. He sent them off to class.

"Send a copy of the video to all of the Cheerios. They've been told not to let anyone else see."

"If this backfires, it falls on you."

"I know." He got up and went to class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Glee rehearsal consisted of running through all three songs to get a feel for where they were in the process of being prepared to perform.

"I think we need to run through 'I Can Fly' a few more times today," Mr. Schue said. "Move to your places."

Once they finished, Kurt headed out. Sam met him and rode with him to the shop. They worked on Sam's training more and headed home as soon as the shop closed.

Kurt was exhausted and just turned the radio on for the drive home. He went straight up to his room and read as much as he could before his eyes got blurry. He went down and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and headed back up to work on the choreography for an hour before he showered and went to bed. He watched the video a couple of times before he called Sebastian and went to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian stayed up late Wednesday night getting caught up from skipping his schoolwork on Tuesday and having to do two tutoring sessions in one evening since he had rescheduled Tuesday's appointment for Wednesday. He used every spare moment he had on Thursday to get more schoolwork done. He grabbed two sandwiches for lunch and moved to the Warbler's room to work rather than sit in the noisy cafeteria. As soon as Warbler's rehearsal ended, he went back to his room and got busy. He still had one tutoring session that evening, but by an hour after he would have normally gone to bed, he had managed to catch up.

After talking to Kurt, he lay in bed and wondered how he was going to be able to keep up when lacrosse started. And would the Warbler's still meet if they didn't make it past Regionals? He tried to stop thinking and relax. He played the recording Kurt had made for him a few times and fell asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday morning, Kurt showed up in his Cheerios uniform. He huddled the group together before they did their first run-through.

"Remember, do your best. Don't focus on the three of us. Perform for the audience. Big smiles, lots of energy, no staring at us. Let's get in position."

Sue started the music once they were in place. When they finished, he motioned for her to start it again. When they reset for the third run-through, he indicated for her to record them. She sent the file out and they all went to their bags to get their phones.

"Alright. Everyone watch today's video while you get a drink and stretch. We'll talk in five minutes." Kurt went up to sit with Sue. "So, what do you think?"

"It's significantly better than it was at the beginning of the week."

"That's a start I suppose. Can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"Why did you wait so long to start a routine with Regionals being next week?"

"They had already learned another routine when I got the notification about the new rules and the theme. I had to start over."

"I see. Couldn't they just have performed the routine to an instrumental version of the song?"

"I promised Santana the lead vocals position for the competition."

"I see. So, you started from scratch to keep your word. That's an interesting change of heart."

"I told you I thought about what Sebastian said. Jean meant everything to me."

"Well, their five minutes is up. What do you want me to tell them?"

"I won't yell anymore. You win. I'll play nice."

"We'll run it three more times. Record the last one. I think the video self-feedback is working."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

That afternoon, Sebastian showed up to the shop as usual. They could only stay until 6:00 since the game was an away game. Sebastian drove him to the game. When they went inside the gymnasium, they walked to the area where the girls were warming up. Kurt went and stretched with them. He started doing some cartwheels and back handsprings to warm up. A group of the away team's fans moved to sit in the area near where the McKinley cheerleaders would perform.

Sue intervened. "None of you go to McKinley – kindly go sit on the other side of the gymnasium."

"We can sit here if we want. It's our school."

"You'll move and sit in your own team's section or I'll get security in here to move you. Now GO!"

They didn't budge.

Sue sent one of the girls to grab a referee, who followed her back.

"I want these students moved to their own side of the gymnasium."

He nodded and called for a security officer who showed up a few minutes later.

"What's the problem?" the burly officer asked.

"These students are sitting in the wrong section. This is for the away team's fans. The home team fans sit on the other side of the gym."

"Get up, kids. The lady's right. Unless you go to McKinley get up and move to the other side of the gym."

"Fuck off. We can sit here if we want. It's our school, our gym, our bleachers."

"I'll have you forcibly removed by the police if you resist my last request to move to the other side of the gym," the security officer stated.

The students all stayed. A few flipped him off. Several others swore and called him names. Ten minutes later, the police arrived.

"You can move to the other side of the gymnasium or you can leave the building," one of the officers stated.

"This is bullshit. I can sit here if I want."

The officer moved closer. "Final warning. Move to the other side or I will arrest you for refusing to move when asked. Your parents will have to come bail you out of jail."

"Tommy – just get up. Let's go. It's not worth going to jail to hassle the fag. It's all fun and games, but I'm not going to jail over it." One of them got up and started down the stairs and move to the other side of the gym.

"And the rest of you?"

All of them, except Tommy stood up and followed the first guy to the other side.

"So, you'd rather go to the station than watch the game from the other side of the gym?"

"Fine, you fuckers. I'll sit on the other side." He got up in a huff and practically stomped across the gymnasium floor.

Sue said, "Thank you, gentlemen."

They nodded and left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt approached Sue. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I should have paid more attention."

"They'll try to sneak back over here during the game. They just won't sit together in a block."

"I'll keep my eye out. Get Sebastian to come sit down here and I'll sit with him and as soon as I see any kids I know, I'll try to get them to fill in at least the first three or four rows so there won't be any room for those…" she paused "…students to return to this area."

Kurt laughed at her self-imposed avoidance of a swear word to refer to the hecklers. Kurt didn't want to single Sebastian out for harassment, so he sent Brittany up to get Sebastian to come down lower. He followed her back down and sat in the second row. The Glee guys minus Finn showed up and when Sebastian motioned for them to come over, they sat in the first and second rows.

Puck asked, "Why are we sitting down here?"

"To prevent the jackasses that have been harassing Kurt when he cheers from being able to come back and sit here. The police forced them to the other side of the gym, but Kurt thinks they'll try to sneak back over."

"Got it," Puck said. "But these seats suck. Let's at least move up to the third row so we can see the game. We'll keep anyone from sitting between us and the cheerleaders."

A little before halftime, a few of the hecklers were back attempting to sit in the empty rows behind the cheerleaders.

Puck got up and stepped down the bleachers. "No fucking way. Go back to the other side of the gym."

"The fag your boyfriend?"

"So what if he is? It's none of your concern. Turn around and walk back or we'll call the cops again."

When they didn't immediately walk away, Mike stood up and stepped down next to Puck. Rory joined them.

"We're not afraid of you Titan losers."

"That's fine," Puck said. "We won't be the ones escorting you to a cell." He pulled his phone out. "Go back to the other side."

By this time, the security officers had noticed the group of spectators standing and approached the area.

"You were warned. Back to the other side."

"You're all a bunch of fags," Tommy said.

"Move!" one of the security officers said resolutely.

The group finally left and went back to the other side.

The halftime show went well. The rest of the game was uneventful. The Titans won.

"Let's get Kurt out of here," Sebastian said. He went down to the floor and said, "Come on. We're leaving."

The other guys formed a ring around him and walked to the Navigator. Kurt got in the driver's side and Sebastian got in right after he did.

"Thanks guys," Sebastian said.

Kurt pulled out of the space and out of the lot as quickly as he could.

"Well, they were persistent."

"I know. That's why I quit in the first place. We've played this team before. They're awful. I don't want to cheer tomorrow. Those jerks are just going to show up at tomorrow's game claiming to be Titans fans."

"Well, if they do, we'll just leave."

"Okay."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian convinced Kurt to go up and do some reading while he made them omelettes for dinner. He took their food up on a tray and they sat together and ate. Once they finished eating, they showered, and Sebastian gave Kurt a massage.

"Are you sure you want to stay on the squad?"

"Honestly, right this minute, I don't know. But I've already learned my part of the routine, well the dancing part. I have the vocals to work on this coming week. The competition is a week from tomorrow. I'll decide for certain after that. You'll come with me, right?"

"Where to? I mean of course I'll go, but where it is?"

"In Indianapolis."

"How far away is Indianapolis?"

"About two and a half hours. We can drive ourselves. Maybe we could spend the night? I don't know. It might be too expensive, but we could at least look."

"We'll look into it tomorrow." Sebastian continued to work the knots in Kurt's shoulders out.

"That feels so good. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I like making you feel good."

"Mmm… well, you're doing a fantastic job."

Kurt fell asleep while Sebastian was massaging him. Sebastian managed to turn Kurt on his side gently and get his pillow under his head without waking him up completely. He slid in behind him as the big spoon and snuggled up tight.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning they headed to the shop as usual. They were both still a little tired and Kurt played the radio while they rode in silence for a while.

"I think you'll need to work this Sunday morning to make up for not working next Sunday morning, right?"

"Not necessarily. I could head in and do the books now. And then next Friday I can do the other half. I just won't learn anything about fixing cars this week. I'd rather do that than potentially leave any of the things I am supposed to do incomplete."

"That's fine. I really would like to stay the night and do something fun together on Sunday. I will have already spent the money on the gas whether we stay overnight or not. We can pack some food to take and just find one cool place to try."

"We'll look into hotel prices when we get back home."

Kurt unlocked the door and they headed inside. Kurt headed for the lounge to change. Sebastian grabbed his hand and stopped him. He pulled him toward him and kissed him, and then let him go get changed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Once they were back home and had eaten lunch, Kurt went back to doing his homework and Sebastian searched for a hotel in Indianapolis.

"What time will the competition end?"

"I think around 6:00 or 7:00. We perform at 4:00, so if we leave early, we could go to one place before I have to be there."

"Alright. Keep reading. I'll keep looking."

An hour later, Kurt put his textbook on the desk and draped his arms around Sebastian's neck and let them hang on his chest. He pressed small kisses into he side of Sebastian's neck.

"Find any possibilities?"

Sebastian picked up the laptop and moved to the bed. "Well, there's a Native American museum and not far from there is the Indiana State Museum, which actually looks really cool too. The largest children's museum in the US is in Indianapolis too, but it's a little bit north of where the competition is, so that would have to be a potential destination for Sunday. There's also a zoo and a large mall in the downtown area that's made up of connected buildings with crosswalks over streets and a glass arts garden that sits over the top of a four-way intersection. It's definitely interesting looking."

Kurt followed him and sat down close to him so they could both look at the screen. "Well, as much as I love shopping, I've pretty much given that hobby up since I've decided that I'd really rather pay as much of my own way as possible. Shopping and planning outfits was a good distraction from my life. But I don't dislike my life like I used to."

Sebastian smiled and leaned over and offered Kurt a kiss, which he gladly accepted. "So, maybe the museums, then." Sebastian switched to the tabs he had opened with the museum websites.

Kurt looked through the websites. Kurt switched from the museum websites to the hotel pages that Sebastian had pulled up in the area. "You know, we could also just go to one place close to the competition venue and save the money for a hotel for spring break. We still have time to get decent rates for that. Trying to get a hotel room at the last minute in the downtown area looks like it's going to be at least $150."

"What did you have in mind for spring break?"

"I hadn't started planning. The cheering situation just took over my week this past week."

Sebastian saved the tabs and shut the laptop down and put it on the shelf next to his side of the bed. He moved his arm and wrapped it around Kurt's shoulders and scooted closer to Kurt. He gently tipped Kurt's face towards his and gently kissed Kurt. "I want to tell you something."

"What?"

"You can tell me I'm wrong, and I could be, but I want to tell you what I see from what you've told me."

"Okay."

"Coach Sue promised the most vicious member of the squad the lead vocal position, but then had to scrap her original plans. She was struggling with her squad to get them ready for Regionals after she had chosen a new song. For whatever reason, the routine wasn't coming together. You won Nationals for her two years ago. She likes to win more than anything. From what I see, she came up with anything she could to persuade you to come back, knowing that all the girls on the team like you. She used your influence to get them to do a better job when she couldn't get them to the point they needed to be. Santana gets what she wants. Sue gets what she wants. And you've gotten a lot of stress and you still have more to face since you don't even have the vocals learned yet. I feel like you are taking a step backwards in your newfound self-respect. It feels like she is using you. I don't like it."

Kurt wrapped himself around Sebastian more tightly and thought about what he had said. "I can see what you are pointing out. I probably should have just said 'no' when she asked. I'm sure she is manipulating me, but I kind of wanted to prove myself right. I wanted to prove that the girls can be treated respectfully and still work hard and win. So, I think you're right, but I'm still going to follow through with it to prove my point. It's whether I'll continue past next weekend that I have to figure out. Even if it's only two weeks of the girls not being berated daily, maybe it will be enough for them to realize that they don't have to live with it in order to be a successful squad."

"I know you're not looking forward to tonight's game, but whether it interferes with Coach Sue's plans or not, if those guys are there sitting in the McKinley section behind the cheer area, we are leaving."

"Alright."

"There is no shame in shielding yourself from attack."

"There's a kid's rhyme that says 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me'. We're taught from a young age to ignore the taunts because they don't hurt. But the truth is that the words do hurt and while they may not break bones, they're soul crushing. I've never retaliated physically, but I have been quite vocal in my retorts. But it seems that the retorts never actually hurt my tormentors the way their words hurt me."

"Probably because society, at least Lima society, was on their side. The people around them believe what they say, whereas you never or rarely had anyone who took your side or who believed you were fine to be who you were. If you had had as many people telling you that it was okay to be yourself, their taunts would not have hurt you like they did. But they were just the ones who had the nerve to say out loud what a lot of people said behind closed doors and behind your back."

"It goes along with what you said, doesn't it? You had to pretend to be bored middle-class, only child looking for something to do while you were home from school in order to get hired. You heard what people said about poor kids. You couldn't allow yourself to be seen as one of 'those kids' because society had all sorts of prejudices against them."

"I hid all the time. I had to. I was just fortunate enough that I could hide in plain sight."

"I'm sure I could have done a better job. I mean I've learned a lot from Matt. There's so many what ifs. What if I had learned to do a better job of pretending to be a 'normal' boy after my mom died? If my dad had remarried quickly, there would have been someone else to take care of him and the house. I wouldn't have been encouraged to learn to cook and sew and whatnot because there would have been someone here to do that for my dad. I wouldn't have been straight and my interests might not have been any different, but in a different situation, those interests could have been suppressed really young. I guess none of that has any bearing on tonight's game. But I don't have to live with being called names for the sake of cheering for a basketball team. That isn't anything life-altering for anyone except me, IF I wanted to be scouted for college cheer squads, which I don't. Hopefully, I'll get chances to perform in the program I'll be in next fall."

"I've been thinking a lot about lacrosse. I loved playing in France, but here, I'm not sure. I already have a lot of schoolwork and the Warblers and the tutoring. If we don't make it past Regionals, I could take on a few more people to tutor and save up more money during the time I would be practicing for lacrosse."

"You heard my dad too, though. He wants us to have time to have some fun. He wants us to grow up to work hard, but not work ourselves into not enjoying our lives at all."

"That's why I'm thinking about it. I looked at the schedule and they play three games a week, alternating with two games a week. There's practice two other days a week. I'll end up spending 8-10 hours a week practicing or playing. And I'll miss working on Friday nights and Saturday mornings several times because of the Saturday games. I'm still debating about it."

"I understand. The Saturday afternoon games make it a tougher decision since you'd miss 7 hours of work those weeks."

"I've been thinking about the Warblers a lot too. If we don't make it past Regionals, I will probably step down as lead singer and probably resign from the group. I won't be back next fall to part of whatever they work on. I'm not sure yet. But I'm 100% certain that Blaine will attempt to resume lead singer next year and he might as well start sooner than later."

"Is he causing you any problems? I know you said he wasn't to my dad, but is he?"

"No. He really is playing his 'team player' role perfectly."

"Good. Whether he is actually learning to be a team player or just pretending to be a team player – in the end, it will make him a better performer in general. Maybe it will make him a better lead next year."

"Why do you care?"

"Because next year's group deserves a decent lead singer and not a return of 'Blaine and the Pips'."

"You're right. If I had come at the beginning of last year, you and I could have rocked the lead together."

Kurt looked up and kissed him. "Maybe. But you might not have given me a second look."

"You're hard to miss." Sebastian squeezed him.

"Blaine was already lead. We would have had to dethrone him, which would have been really hard to do with Wes in charge. He was very committed to the shuffle step and Blaine being the lead singer."

Sebastian laughed. "I've heard about his commitment to his gavel as well."

"That too."

Sebastian changed the subject. "Do you have more schoolwork to catch up on still?"

"A little."

"Do you want to finish it now?"

"I guess. That way, I won't have to think about it anymore." Kurt got up and grabbed the last textbook he needed.

"Can you concentrate if you lie back on me as your chair?"

"I can try."

Sebastian grabbed a pillow and put it on top of the bolster and grabbed his phone and earPods. He sat back and made room for Kurt to sit between his legs and lean back on him. He propped another pillow in Kurt's lap and they both bent their knees so Kurt could prop the book up and read it. Sebastian laid his head back, started some music, closed his eyes, and wrapped his arms around Kurt.

Kurt used one of his hands to turn the pages as he read, and caressed Sebastian's hands that were interlaced on his chest with the other. He never knew how much he would enjoy someone holding him. About 45 minutes later, Kurt had finally finished all of the pages that he had been assigned throughout the week that he hadn't gotten read. He closed the book and placed it to his left. He moved the pillow as well. He gently pushed Sebastian's legs down and turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's torso and snuggled him.

Sebastian adjusted himself so he slid down in the bed a bit to get them more comfortable. He pulled his earPods out and turned the music off. "Do you want to take a nap before we leave? You could sleep for about an hour."

"Set your phone for an hour, but I don't want to sleep. I just want to hold you."

Sebastian set the alarm and put his phone on the shelf.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, they got up. Kurt got his uniform on and they headed to Thurston for the final basketball game of the season. The team had done better than they had in some years, but they weren't headed into the playoffs. With the game being nearby and the last of the season, they had a decent turnout of McKinley students show up to watch the game.

They were surprised to see Dave in line, but neither of them said anything as they entered through the players' entrance. Kurt headed off to warm up with the girls and Sebastian took a seat in the fourth row behind the cheerleaders. He hoped they'd have no need to leave early, but he sat where he could make a quick exit if need be.

Sebastian's phone pinged a few minutes later.

To Sebastian: Get Kurt out of here as soon as the game actually starts, like during the national anthem. Nick and some of the Thurston jackasses were talking to some guys from South Allen and Smear the Queer is on the agenda for tonight's game. Word spread around from last night. Don't respond. Delete this.

Sebastian got up, moved down a few rows and walked directly up to Coach Sue. He showed her his phone. She nodded.

"Take Kurt's letter jacket, go out, and pull his SUV up to the entrance you came in."

Sebastian nodded. He left his coat on the chair where Kurt's had been hanging. He folded Kurt's inside out and took it out to the parking lot and got directly into the Navigator and pulled it up. He kept it running.

Sue pulled Kurt back from the line up like she was giving him some sort of pep talk.

"As soon as the national anthem plays, put Sebastian's coat on to cover your uniform as much as possible. It's on the chair behind me. He's pulling your SUV as close to the players' entrance as he can right now. Walk out quickly, get in, and drive home. Go back to the line for now and look as normal as possible."

He nodded.

A couple of minutes later, Thurstan's band assembled on the end of the basketball court opposite the doors that led outside. The announcer said, "All rise for the national anthem."

Kurt stepped back out of line, put Sebastian's coat on, and headed directly to the door. He opened the door and saw Sebastian waiting for him. He jogged to the SUV and opened the passenger door and shut it and heard Sebastian hit the lock and drove out of the parking lot as Kurt fastened his seat belt.

"What's going on?"

"Bear Cub warned me of 'Smear the Queer.' I don't have any details. He just said he overheard some of the Thurstan jocks talking to some of those guys from South Allen from last night. He said to delete the text, but I showed it to Coach Sue first and then deleted it. She had me swap coats and wait outside the door for you."

Kurt pulled his phone out of the glove box and placed an order at his favorite Chinese place. "I don't feel like going home and cooking."

"That's fine. Just tell me how to get there, or we can pull over and trade places."

Kurt reached out and put his hand on Sebastian's leg. He gave him directions to the restaurant. He pulled into the parking lot, went inside, picked up the order and came right back out. Kurt had switched positions while he was gone. They headed straight home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt pulled out two plates, some silverware, and grabbed some napkins. Sebastian grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge. They headed upstairs.

"I think the food will still be hot if we shower quickly. I'd rather not change twice and I can't eat in this uniform," Kurt said from inside the closet, as he tossed the uniform into the laundry. He came out of the closet in his underwear. "Or I guess I can eat in my underwear and then we can shower."

Sebastian's eyes brightened as he came out like that. "Sure. Let's just eat and then shower. I'd rather have a nice, long shower." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Kurt laughed. "I should have figured as much. Let's eat, then, while the food is hot and before I freeze."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt got a text from Carole about an hour later. He responded quickly letting her know that he was at home and that he'd explain later. He snuggled back up with Sebastian and continued to watch the movie they had chosen. She knocked on their door about 30 minutes later. They scrambled to put pajamas on and Kurt opened the door to let her in. Sebastian hit pause on the DVD.

She came in and sat down in the chair by the window. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your movie."

"It's fine," Sebastian said. "That's what pause buttons are for."

She laughed. "I'm not used to that answer."

"We already ate, if that's what you came up to see. We stopped by the Siam House and brought dinner home with us," Kurt offered.

"Well, that was one question. My second was why you weren't there. Sam was looking for you after the game. He knew you were there and then you weren't."

Kurt and Sebastian explained why they had left.

"The people around here are just stupid," she said. "It's just ridiculous. I'm glad you left and didn't end up getting hurt or whatever they had planned."

"Well, I won't be wearing the uniform anywhere except to the competition next weekend, so hopefully that will help cut down on any retaliation for their lack of success tonight."

"I will drive you to practice every morning this week and drop you off right at the door. Sam can take the Navigator when he leaves and you'll still have it when you get out of school."

"Alright."

"Are you going to Cincinnati in the morning?"

"No. I'm actually not going for quite a while. Between Cheerios Regionals and Glee Regionals, the university's spring break and our spring break, I won't be going back until the first weekend in April."

"Alright, then. I'll probably sleep in tomorrow morning if I can. I'll be working as many shifts as I can get in since I want to take those 10 days off the middle of March. I took off the Saturday of Glee Regionals so I can watch everyone perform, but I couldn't get off this Saturday. I'm sorry about that. Maybe Sebastian can record it and I can watch it after you get back."

"I understand. It's a long ways from here. I didn't expect you to go anyway."

"We haven't talked much, but I also thought I'd let you know, that as of right now, the wedding is still on for the afternoon after Regionals. I understand that you are not currently all that friendly with Rachel, but I would still like both of you to be there."

"Of course," Kurt said.

Sebastian just nodded.

"I'll get you more details once I know them. Honestly, I am still hoping that they decide to wait until school is over for the year, but we'll see. I'll let you two finish your movie."

"Good night," Kurt said as he closed the door after she left. He locked it and undressed again and got back in bed.

Sebastian did the same. "I don't have anything to wear to a wedding."

"I'm not even sure how fancy they are planning on it being. Since it's mostly just a group of high school students that will attend and the four parents, I'm not sure what to expect. I have plenty of vests and ties. I think we'll be fine."

"Alright." He unpaused the movie and scooted up closer to Kurt.

The movie ended about 10 minutes later and Sebastian asked Kurt, "Do you want to watch something else or should I turn it off and put the bolster in the closet so we can lie down?"

"Let's just snuggle and talk." Kurt sat up so that Sebastian could grab the bolster and put it in the closet. He put their pillows back down in sleeping position.

Sebastian used the remote to turn everything off and got back into bed. "Snuggle position choice?"

"I'm your body pillow."

Sebastian let Kurt get comfortable on his back and then lay halfway down on top of Kurt, who quickly wrapped his arms around Sebastian. They lay that way for a while, making small adjustments in their positions until they were both comfortable.

"Do you think I'm like Finn?"

"No. What makes you think that I would?"

"Because I don't have any great plans for my life. I don't have some giant 'save the world' or 'become the best' at something dream for my life."

"You have a goal. You want to be a functioning adult member of society. You want to work, make your own money, do things you enjoy, spend time with people you love – those are all perfectly fine. You don't have to want to 'save the world' or whatever."

"You don't think I just love the fact that you love me, do you?"

"No. You show me that you love me all the time." Kurt kissed the top of his head. "You've only heard a little bit about the two of them. We are nothing at all like they are. And I actually am not judging Finn for not having a 5-year plan or whatever. I'm just pretty sure he doesn't know what he's choosing. He has no idea that he will have to work 40-60 hours a week at minimum wage to pay for half of the cost of a tiny shoebox apartment in New York City. And that it means that he'll have to work 2-3 jobs to get that many hours. And he'll probably only be home when Rachel's sleeping. She could live on campus for cheaper than in an apartment, so I don't see how her dads will be willing to pay extra just so Finn can live there too. But back to what you asked. You had clearly done the calculations. You made an informed choice about staying and going to college in Cincinnati. You chose a major. You applied. You waited until you got your acceptance letter to tell me you had done it. You clearly weren't trying to manipulate me. We get along. I mean unless you've just been acting this whole time and pretending to enjoy spending time with me."

"No, God no." Sebastian moved his hand and ran his thumb along Kurt's clavicle. "I really do enjoy spending time with you."

"Until you just brought it up, I had never compared the two of us to the two of them."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Being insecure I guess. Being needy."

"It's okay. I know all of this is new. I feel like I'm the needy one too sometimes, you know. You rescued me who knows what tonight. We both have our demons that haunt us." Kurt let go of his hold on Sebastian to run his fingers through Sebastian's hair. "I want to be here for you when you need someone in your corner. You've been there for me too. We'll stick together. We'll make plans together, like we have been. You're not my pet project. I'm not with you because I feel sorry for you. I think you're amazing. I feel sorry for Dave, but I would never consider dating him. Feeling sorry for someone is not a good basis for a loving relationship. You've been through a lot and you've survived. We'll keep doing our best to survive whatever we face, together."

"I love being with you and I love you so much."

"I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt woke up first. Despite the fact that making breakfast in bed for Sebastian had been on his agenda, he was still being used as a body pillow by his very adorable sleeping boyfriend. He lay still, allowing Sebastian to continue to sleep. He knew that Sebastian had sacrificed several hours of sleep during the week to manage to come on Tuesday to spend the evening and night with him and still have all of his schoolwork done when he got home on Friday. When Sebastian had doubts about whether Kurt knew that he loved him, little things like that made all the difference. Sebastian wanted to be with him enough to make sure he had free time to spend with Kurt every weekend.

After a while, Sebastian began to stir. He cuddled up tighter and Kurt couldn't help but laugh a little. "You're adorable."

"Good morning, beautiful." Sebastian kissed him on the neck.

Kurt squeezed him. "This means more than any gift you could ever buy me."

"What?"

"That you work so hard to have time for me every weekend. You could hang around Dalton and do any number of things with anyone you want to, but you choose me. When you wonder if I know that you love me, this is the answer to that. I know. You show me." Kurt kissed the top of his head. "I know you're concerned that you don't know how to be a good boyfriend, but you don't need to be concerned. You're an amazing boyfriend. That's what I've been lying here thinking about."

"I'm glad you think so." Sebastian kissed his neck again. He moved a little and lay down on top of Kurt, slipped his hands and forearms up underneath Kurt's shoulders, and propped himself up on his elbows and continued to kiss Kurt's neck until he was moaning, bucking up, and chasing after the kisses.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they got out of the shower, they put pajama pants on and lay back down in the bed. This time Sebastian was the big spoon. Kurt was cuddled into him so tight, there was no space between them at all. Sebastian pressed gentle kisses to the back of his neck. Kurt turned over and faced him. He wrapped himself up in Sebastian's arms and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. He was too tired from their second round in the shower to push for more than lazy, comforting kisses.

"What about inviting Nick and Jeff to go with us to Indianapolis? We could split the cost of a hotel room with them and we could see how well the four of us get along without the potential awkwardness of them seeing that we share a room and sleep together. If it works out and we have fun, we could invite them here sometime in the future."

"That's a good idea. I'll text Jeff in a little bit and see if they're interested. It's still pretty early. It's not even 7:30 yet. How about another hour of snuggling and kissing and then I'll text them?"

Kurt answered with kisses.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt ladled soup into two bowls and put them on the island. Sebastian grabbed silverware and drinks while Kurt washed the pot. They sat down together to eat, but the soup was still a little too hot.

"So, we'll go to the Indiana State Museum Saturday morning, then to Regionals? We'll stay overnight and go to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis on Sunday? And they're fine with leaving Dalton so early on Saturday morning?"

"Jeff said they were. So, they'll be here at 7:30. They'll move their bags to the Navigator and we'll head to Indianapolis. The Children's Museum closes at 5:00, so we can head back and they can be back at Dalton long before 10:00."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you know where they're going to college?"

"Unless they applied for early admission somewhere, they won't know yet, right?"

"You're right."

They started eating and continued talking. "Is there anyone from McKinley you'd like to do things with? I don't want you to feel like I'm isolating you. We had a good time with Tina and Quinn that time."

"We could invite them to go skating again sometime. I don't really hang out with anyone at school - except Sam. This semester, he's been hanging out with the guys a lot more than with me."

"So, no one except Sam?"

"Not really. At one point I would have said Mercedes, but she left New Directions for most of first semester and she eats with Shane and rarely talks to me anymore."

Sebastian leaned over and offered Kurt a kiss. He responded by leaning forward and kissing Sebastian.

"Let's go shopping."

"Shopping for what?"

"Summer clothes for you."

"It's below zero outside, whatever that is in Fahrenheit."

"It's about 25 degrees outside. I know, but you don't have any summer clothes and we can start shopping now. Each time we go out maybe we'll find two or three things you like and by the time it turns warm, you'll have everything you need and won't have to buy anything retail, well except some summer athletic socks." Kurt had a huge smile on his face and looked like he was planning something really exciting.

Sebastian loved to see Kurt all smiling and happy. "Sure. We'll be the only ones shopping for summer stuff and get the best selection. I could just wear your clothes though." He smiled.

"I don't actually own very many summer clothes. Since I didn't have anyone to do anything with in the summers, I mostly hung out at the shop and here at home. But that it is a good point. I should look through what I have and get rid of anything I don't want and see what it is that I could use. I know we'll still work a lot this summer, but I want to go out and do things with you too. We don't have to stay in Lima. We could go camping some time. It's cheaper than hotel rooms."

"I've never been camping."

"It's fun. We'll go this summer, maybe up near the lake."

"Alright." Sebastian was nearly laughing because Kurt seemed so excited.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because you seem so excited and it sounds like an adventure. And I get to go with you, so how could it not be fun?"

"Oh, okay."

"I'm not making fun of you if that's what you thought."

"I'm sorry. Old habit."

"Hey, look at me."

Kurt looked at him.

He leaned over and kissed Kurt. "None of that. If you say you like camping, there's no reason for me not to believe you. Maybe I'll love it. Maybe I'll hate it. Or maybe somewhere in between. I won't know until we go."

"We could go during spring break if we head somewhere south. We can look at places later." He got up and picked up their bowls and put them in the dishwasher.

Sebastian grabbed everything else and put it in.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They went inside Goodwill and started looking through the racks together. They gathered up a stack of clothes and got up the nerve to go in the handicapped dressing room together since no one was using it.

They tried everything on. It turned into mostly Kurt watching Sebastian try clothes on because Kurt was only looking for a few things.

"Oooh, I like that on you."

Sebastian put the shirt in the keep pile and smiled.

"You know you can pick for yourself, right?" Kurt teased.

"I know, but I don't have to look at myself while I wear the clothes. If you think they look good, then I'll get them. To me, it's a piece of clothing. I like looking good, but I don't have any loyalty to any brand or any particular way of dressing. We're going to work, go out together and have fun, and eventually go to college wearing these clothes. I want to look good, be comfortable, and not stand out like a sore thumb. So, I won't be choosing any neon-colored plaid shirts or shorts. I just want to blend in like I have my whole life, but look good doing it."

Kurt stood up and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's torso and whispered in his ear. "You're gorgeous so the 'looking good' part is pretty much a given." He licked his ear and kissed down his neck.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and held him close. He whispered in Kurt's ear. "If you keep that up, I'm going to want to do something besides try on clothes in here."

Kurt laughed and responded, "I've been struggling to keep my hands to myself for about 10 shirts."

"Oh, really?"

Kurt nodded and blushed.

"Well, then I better hurry up." He tried on the last couple of shirts. "Done. Five shirts and three pairs of shorts is a good start. Let's go." Sebastian redressed. They left what they didn't choose on the rack outside the door, got in line, paid, and went back out the Navigator.

As they were putting their bags in the back, Sebastian said, "Drive us somewhere where there won't be any people around."

They got in and Kurt drove to a wooded area not that far away that had no playground and just a few hiking trails that no one used in the winter. "What do you want to do?"

"Put the back seats down and do what we wanted to do in the dressing room."

Kurt got out, showed Sebastian how to put the backseats down and they both climbed in. Kurt hit the lock on the remote.

"No one's here and your back windows are tinted." Sebastian gently laid Kurt back and started kissing him. "Are you okay with this?"

"Mm hmm," he answered as they kissed.

"Can I blow you?"

"Yes, please. I don't want to get undressed though. It's too cold."

Sebastian laughed. "I think I can handle that."

Afterwards, they switched positions. They lay cuddled up in each other's arms for a while, until Sebastian felt Kurt shiver.

"Let's go get some coffee."

Kurt drove them the 20 minutes back into town.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Oooh. That looks good. Let's split one of those caramel praline cheesecake slices."

"Okay. Why don't you go find us a table?"

Kurt walked to the other side of the Lima Bean. Sebastian stood in line and a couple of minutes later, he heard a familiar voice speaking in a low voice. "He won't put out, you know."

"Good afternoon to you, too, Blaine."

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Four weeks, a month tomorrow."

"Well, since you were all 'it doesn't bother me, if it doesn't bother you' I'm sure you'll be fine."

"That was a bad joke. And I am perfectly fine, but thanks for your concern."

Sebastian ordered and moved to the side to wait for the order.

"I can't believe you'd give up your adventurous spirit to be tied down to a prudish bore."

"I can't believe you're speaking that way about someone you supposedly loved. And not that I'd expect you to remember, but I already told you that I'm not that guy – when you came back in Scandals smashed, wanting me to tell you what it's like – I told you I didn't know."

"He's the one that dumped me. I thought you were lying just to be a jerk. Doesn't matter. I found someone new who doesn't need any coddling."

Sebastian's name was called. He grabbed the tray and said, "Well, enjoy your afternoon, Blaine." He took the tray and sat down on the same side of the table as Kurt.

Kurt grabbed his coffee and the slice of cheesecake. Sebastian sat down next to Kurt, grabbed his coffee, and pushed the tray to the other side of the table.

"I saw Blaine behind you in line ."

"Yeah, I did my best to not engage with him. He did figure out that we're dating though."

"Well, I was holding your hand in line for a while. He must have noticed. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I should keep my hands to myself."

"Look, I'm not interested in getting dumpster tossed or whatever, but the majority of people who come here are not homophobic jocks. I don't care what adults might say to us. I highly doubt there are any adults who are willing to go to jail for assaulting high school students for holding hands while standing in line to buy coffee."

"That's probably true."

Sebastian slipped his hand into Kurt's lap and took his hand. "I'm not embarrassed to be with you."

Kurt nodded. He picked up his coffee cup and took a small sip.

"So, camping." Sebastian let go of Kurt's hand so he could use his phone. He took a drink of his coffee and a bite of the cheesecake. "It's good. Take a bite." He offered Kurt the fork. "Don't worry about him. If he tells everyone at school, it's fine with me."

"I thought you didn't want anyone to know."

"I'm sorry. That makes it sound like I'm embarrassed. It's not that at all. I just don't tell anyone anything. But I'm working on that. It will probably take a long time for me to just be open with people as my first response. But us, I'm not ashamed of us, _mon étoile_. Look at me."

Kurt looked up. "I love you and I'm not ashamed." Sebastian leaned over and quickly pecked Kurt on the lips.

Kurt blushed. "Bas."

"Not ashamed. You are amazing and I'm a lucky guy." He picked up the fork and took another bite. "This one is good, but yours is so much better."

"Thank you."

Sebastian picked up another forkful and fed it to Kurt, who blushed again.

"People are going to see you."

"Do you see any jocks in here that are a danger to us?"

Kurt looked around. "Mostly people are looking at their phones or books or newspapers."

"Most people mind their own business, at least most adults do. Those homophobic jocks need jobs. They have too much time on their hands." He took another bite, and then fed another bite to Kurt, who still blushed, but not quite as much. "So, how long are we willing to drive to go camping?"

"Let's look at the forecasts for a few places. I've never really been anywhere south of Cincinnati except to Tennessee once, so I don't know how far south we'd have to go to get someplace warm enough to camp in the middle of March. We may just have to wait and go after school gets out."

"Let's see… Let's look at the middle of Tennessee." He fiddled with his phone for a while.

"That would be about a 6-hour drive."

"It looks like its would be in the mid-70s. That's nice, right?"

"It is. It's like pants all day, jacket in the morning kind of weather."

Sebastian kept reading. "There are bears in Tennessee. I'm not sure I want to sleep in a tent with bears nearby."

Kurt lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper. "I guess we could just sleep in the back of the Navigator. We know we can both fit back there lying down."

"That's true."

"I've never been to the ocean either. We could drive another 6 or 7 hours and go to the beach in northern Florida."

"We could. Let's go home and work on ideas and see what we can afford."

Sebastian grabbed the plate and fork and put them on the tray. Kurt grabbed both cups and followed Sebastian to the trash can/dish drop-off. Sebastian took Kurt's hand and they walked out to the Navigator. He let go when they got there and they got in.

As soon as they were both inside, Sebastian reached for Kurt's hand again and Kurt took it. Sebastian leaned over the console and offered him a kiss, which he accepted.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Back at home in bed after eating dinner and showering, Sebastian was leaning back against the bolster and a pillow with Kurt sitting between his legs leaning back on him. They were both in pajama pants and had a blanket over their shoulders. Sebastian was using his phone and Kurt was using a notebook and pencil to work on their spring break plan.

"So, if we went all the way to northern Florida and back, we'd spend $250-300 in gas, depending on gas prices and our mileage," Kurt said.

"That's a lot. The campsites I'm looking at are about $30 a night. If we leave Friday and come back Sunday, that would be 8 days, so about $250."

Kurt wrote that down.

"Then there's the issue of food. I think we'd need to eat out once a day, maybe at lunch when restaurants charge less. We could pack yogurt, granola bars, and sandwiches."

"One meal out a day would still be at least $15, maybe $20. So, $175."

Kurt added that to the page. "$300+$250+$175=$625. So, we'd need to have $700 in case we needed extra for something. Plus, whatever we spend on the food we pack to take with us."

"That's a lot," Sebastian said.

"It is. And if we want to do anything besides look around, we'll need money to get into places, like that cool aquarium in Gatlinburg or any museums we might want to visit."

"So, more like, $800-$850, depending on how much it costs to get into places. At $20-30 per place, we could go to 2-3 places."

"Or…"

"Or?" Sebastian asked.

"Or we could stay here, have the house to ourselves and work everyday the whole day like we normally go to school and save all of the money from our paychecks that week to go on a trip right after graduation. We could go in at 7:00, leave at 4:30 and still have a lot of the afternoon and the whole evening to ourselves and by the end of the week, we'd have about $1200 we could use. Then we could alternate between camping and staying in hotels."

"Interesting idea."

"You could try to study for a couple of the certification tests during the week and we could go over anything that you need help with during spring break and then you could sit for the exams. I know that being a mechanic was never on your radar of things to do, but you're a really quick study at it and it pays well."

Sebastian took the notebook and pencil Kurt had in his hand and put it on the shelf next to the bed with his phone. He nudged Kurt to move and he moved the bolster out of the way and scooted down in the bed. He opened his arm, making room for Kurt to lay his head on his chest, which Kurt did quickly, as if it was where he belonged. Sebastian wrapped his arms around him.

"It was never on my radar because I had no way of learning to do it. I told you I don't have any grand plans for my future. I already have more than I had ever allowed myself to dream of." He kissed Kurt. "Being a mechanic would just be a added benefit to my life. Being able to fix cars is a huge thing. I'll do what I can to learn what I need to know for the tests. You can show me which ones are the most useful to have first and I'll start with those."

"Alright. I'll do that…later."

"Later?"

Kurt pushed up on his arm and got up on his hands and knees and straddled Sebastian and kissed him. "Okay?"

"Later's great." He smiled and pulled Kurt down on top of him.

Kurt slipped his forearms under Sebastian's shoulders and deepened the kiss. "I love you, Bas. So much." Kurt kissed down his neck and his chest. He looked up, asking with his eyes.

Sebastian nodded.

Kurt continued to kiss down farther and pulled his arms out from under Sebastian to keep his balance. He sat on Sebastian's thighs and ran his hands down Sebastian's arms and chest, alternating between light massages and caressing him. He leaned down and kissed him again. He kissed his way down again and worked his way toward his goal.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A half hour later, they were both out of breath and lying all intertwined under the covers, both blissed out.

"I'd have to say that we are both getting quite good at that," Sebastian laughed.

"Mmm hmm. Definitely. I don't know what you know about going farther, but I kept the pamphlets my dad gave me if you ever want to read them. We can talk about it."

"Pamphlets?"

"Yeah. My dad and I got into an argument when I brought Blaine back here to sleep after he got drunk at Rachel's party."

"I remember you telling me."

"So, during that argument, my dad made the comment that he didn't know what 'went down in the tent' in _Brokeback Mountain_. I smarted back about maybe he should know more so I could go to him like a straight son could and ask questions."

"Okay…"

"I was mad. He acted like I was going to have sex with someone who was drunk when I had never even kissed anyone I liked. He had pushed me too far and I stomped off. I was already 17. I knew what 'went down in the tent', I was just ticked that he didn't."

"Alright."

"So, a couple of weeks later, Blaine decided that we should 'sexify' our Regionals set list and we learned and performed 'Animal' for the Crawford County Day Glee Club after school one day. He and I sang lead. I unfortunately did not put forth my best effort. He came to me afterwards and told me that my sexy faces looked like gas pains and came over to help me learn to look more sexy by looking in the mirror and working on it, which was even more awkward and uncomfortable than performing the song was."

"I've seen you perform and pull off sexy quite well." He kissed Kurt.

"Thank you. We talked a bit and I told him that I liked romance and old movies because they weren't like pornography, which I don't like at all. Needless to say, I ended up asking him to leave. But he came away from the whole conversation thinking that I didn't know anything about sex. He went to my dad and told him that I needed to be taught."

"No…"

"Oh, definitely yes. So, my dad went to a reproductive health clinic somewhere and got brochures about boys who love boys and how to practice safe sex. The best part about the whole thing was that my dad actually read the brochures before he gave them to me. I never did go to him asking him any questions. They were quite self-explanatory. I did learn some things from reading them that I hadn't been able to find out online without ending up on porn sites. You and I haven't talked about it much, but I still don't like porn. I know a lot of guys love it."

"I never had access to much since I was at a boarding school and they used filters to block those sites from the internet at the school. Of course, some of the guys bought DVDs and watched them on their laptops, but it was straight porn. I mean some of the guys were well-endowed and not bad looking, but it definitely didn't do much for me. I've not pursued watching it here where I have more access. I'd rather snuggle with you and kiss than watch two guys pound each other."

"Well, if you ever want to read the brochures, they're in the blue folder over on my lower shelf."

"Okay. And just in case you have any lingering doubts, I think you are super sexy." Sebastian flipped them so Kurt was on his back and he started kissing up his neck. "You are absolutely gorgeous. Every part of you." He kissed down his arms, and ran his hands all over Kurt. "You're beautiful on the inside too." He kissed him and licked his way into Kurt's mouth, deepening the kiss, showing him how attractive he was and preventing him from saying anything contradictory at the same time.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, after Sebastian set off for Dalton, Kurt headed back upstairs to get dressed. He used the time when Sebastian was getting dressed to make them an omelette to split before Sebastian had to leave. Now, he was left in their room alone to get ready for the day, which made no sense to even bother with since he was going to be run ragged for an hour before class started. He put on some sweats, put his clothes in a bag and headed downstairs.

Carole was waiting for him. He had let the fact that she would be taking him to school slip his mind during his enjoyable Sunday with Sebastian – bullies, full of hate and homophobia made her feel the need to drive him to school for the week.

"Good morning, honey. Do you want something to eat?"

"I already ate with Sebastian, but thank you for the offer."

"How's he doing?"

"Good. He's a sweetie. He's a really good boyfriend."

"I'm glad, honey. I like seeing you happy."

"Nick and Jeff are going to go with us to Indianapolis this weekend. We're all going to stay in a hotel Saturday night and go to a couple of fun things there."

"I'm glad to see you doing things with other people too. I oftentimes wish we had continued to send you to Dalton. It was much more your speed academically and there are definitely more guys there for you to be friends with."

"It's alright. I don't love it at McKinley. I didn't love it at Dalton. A mix of the two would be great. The level of academics, the lack of bullying, with a mix of promoting individualism and less snobbery would be a great mix."

Carole laughed. "I suppose it would be. I'm sure it was hard for you and for Sebastian to be there without access to the money that most of those boys have."

"It's just weird to listen to people talk about going to France or Italy the way people around here talk about going to Taco Bell."

She about choked she laughed so hard. "But Nick and Jeff aren't like that?"

"No, they're not. They're first generation wealth. They don't run off to Europe for the weekend. Their dads just want them to get first-rate educations rather than attend public school. There's some other guys like that, but for the most part the school is made up of old money."

"Let's get going. We can keep talking while I drive."

They went out, got in Carole's car, buckled up and headed to the school.

"I think that Sebastian and I are going to stay here for spring break and work full time and use the money to go on a trip after we graduate."

"Where to?"

"Well, we talked about going to the Smoky Mountains and to see the ocean in northern Florida. We're thinking of a combination of camping and staying in hotels."

"That sounds like fun."

"We think so. He's, I don't know how to explain it. He's just comfortable. He's easy to talk to. He's just easy to be around."

"I've noticed that. You're very calm around him. Not in a he's-controlling-you way and not in a you-act-like-someone-different way. He lets you be you. He likes you for who you already are, not what he can turn you into."

"That's a good description. I've always felt like people want to turn me into something other than what I was. I hate to say it, but even Dad. He loves me, but he doesn't get me. He lets me be me, which I appreciate more than I can say. He always just seemed to wish that I was something I'm not. He's getting better though. I think a lot of Dad's issues were because of the way people treated me. I think he wished I could easily fit in without people being mean. I don't think he every actually wanted to change me. I think he just wanted the whole situation changed."

"Probably. I know he loves you. He's proud of you. He says very positive things about you to everyone who will listen to him."

Kurt laughed. "Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome." She pulled into the lot and drove around to the side where the gym doors opened and watched for Kurt to make it safely inside.

He waved as he walked through the door.


	14. Chapter 14

Each day that week went the same for Kurt. Carole took him to school. He rehearsed with the Cheerios every morning. He practiced with Brittany and Santana every day at lunch. The New Directions practiced after school. He worked with Sam every afternoon until closing and they had started doing their schoolwork together again.

Tuesday, Kurt, Brittany, and Santana agreed to skip Glee to practice an extra hour after school. Thursday he met with them after dinner, which they ate with the residents of the Hummel home. The three of them worked on the music until they were sure they could sing the song in their sleep. Once the girls left Thursday evening, Kurt did his best to get all of the schoolwork done that he possibly could, but he didn't manage to get it all done. He did what had to be turned in and left the reading to do the next day.

Out of the blue, Friday afternoon his French teacher assigned an additional long reading assignment and essay for Monday. That meant even with all of his work to stay caught up all week, he wasn't going to be able to enjoy what he had planned for the weekend. He was torn between shirking his responsibilities at the shop and having to spend his Saturday evening doing schoolwork instead of having a good time in Indianapolis.

He drove to the shop after Glee. He looked through the list of work orders. He saw the list was too long to ignore, so he talked to Cassius, who had stayed late to cover for someone who called out sick.

"Is there anyone we can call in to help out this afternoon and tomorrow morning? I have a ton of homework that I really need to do before I leave town tomorrow morning for the cheerleading Regionals. I'm really sorry, Cassius."

"Hey, Kurt. Lighten up. These cars need work, but your dad would have me skinned if he knew I let you work instead of getting your schoolwork done."

"You know that's not true," Kurt teased.

"Well, he'd let me have it for sure. You go get that homework done and I'll call Marty and get him in here to get the easy stuff done. I'll start on what you were supposed to do."

"Thanks, Cassius. I'll be in the lounge doing my homework until close."

A half hour later, Sebastian showed up and he came into the lounge and found Kurt reading his US Government book wearing his regular clothes instead of coveralls. He walked behind the chair Kurt was sitting in and draped himself over Kurt's shoulders and kissed Kurt on the side of his neck. Kurt turned his head and offered Sebastian a kiss, which he quickly accepted.

"I'm glad you're here," Kurt said.

"Me too." He kissed Kurt again. "Too much homework?"

"Yeah. I'm going to work on this while you do the books. You can even stay past closing if you need to since there's no game to go to and we're not coming in tomorrow morning or Sunday morning. I've got enough to keep me busy for most of the evening, unfortunately. You know I worked with the girls all evening yesterday. I only did things that had to turned in today and the rest I put off and managed to not get found out. And this afternoon Madame Charles assigned a 40-page reading assignment and a 3-page essay."

"Alright. I'll let you get as much done as you can. I'll come back when I'm done." He gave him one last kiss and left the room.

Three hours later, he was back. Kurt had made a big dent in his assignments, but still had some work left to do.

"Let's get home. At least there, you can change into comfortable clothes and sit in your own chair."

Kurt put the book he had been reading on the stack with the others. He held his hands out and Sebastian pulled him up from the chair and straight into a bear hug.

"I've decided I like these quite a bit. I have you to thank for introducing me to them." He laughed and kissed Kurt on the side of the neck, while holding him close and squeezing him just right.

Kurt laughed. "I suppose I did. Good job, me." He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's back and leaned in and held on tight. "I love you. I missed you."

"I missed you too." He loosened his grip enough to kiss Kurt. "I love you too. Come on." Sebastian picked up the stack of books. Kurt put his coat on and grabbed his satchel. They checked the doors and left through the employee entrance, setting the alarm on their way out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian sent Kurt straight up to get started again on what he had left to do. He found Carole in the kitchen putting two plates in the fridge.

"Oh, here. These are for you and Kurt. I figured something happened at the shop to keep you two."

"I worked until I got all of the bookkeeping done since we won't be going in tomorrow or Sunday. Kurt worked on schoolwork all afternoon and that's where he is still. He worked on the Regionals stuff and fell behind. Then, we're going to be gone all weekend and he doesn't want to have to work on it instead of going to the places we planned."

"Makes sense. Burt wants him to do well, but he needs to have a little fun sometimes too. And he can't do much that's fun around here. I'm glad to see him having fun with you and – is it Nick and Jeff?"

"Yes." Sebastian pulled his phone out and texted Kurt to come downstairs.

About a minute later, Kurt came in the room. "You rang?"

"Carole had plates of food ready for us."

"Thanks," Kurt said to her.

"You're welcome."

"I should have called. I'm sorry. I can't keep track of when you're home and when you're not."

"It's fine, honey. It's going to be too confusing to try to keep track of. I told you I'm picking up extra shifts, which means I'll be working weird hours until spring break. I don't expect you to call. But if I'm here and I make dinner, I'll put food for the two of you in the fridge."

The two of them sat down at the island to eat, which didn't take them long since they were both really hungry. They put their dishes in the dishwasher and thanked Carole again.

"We'll be leaving at 7:30 tomorrow morning. I'm going to try to finish everything and get to bed at a reasonable time."

"Good night," Carole said as they walked out of the room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was talking while pulling out his agenda and marking off what he had done already and stacking up the books he still needed to use to get the rest of the assignments done.

"I hate to ask you this, but would you consider doing the laundry while I keep working on this stuff? I wish I could just put it off, but next week is midterms and we'll end up rehearsing for Regionals before and after school. And as far as I know, there is still a wedding to attend right after Regionals."

Sebastian walked up behind him. "Of course. I need to do my stuff and I'll do yours too. I didn't end up doing mine at school this week because I was trying to not have any work this weekend just like you. So, I'll just grab everything and go get it washing, except let's shower first because I want us to get in our pajamas."

"You drive a hard bargain," he teased. "But I accept your terms." Kurt started to undress.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian kept quiet, did the laundry, put it away, packed their stuff for the weekend in his suitcase, and read a book while listening to music until Kurt got done at nearly 11:00.

"Finally," Kurt said. "Let's sleep as soon as I check the suitcase. It's not that I don't trust you, but if I have any part of my uniform wrong, Coach Sue will string me up." He opened it up and looked through everything. "New shirt, track pants, correct socks, dance belt, shoes which I polished last night and should be okay." He put everything back. "It's perfect. Thank you."

Sebastian smiled.

Kurt put the suitcase in his chair and pulled his letterman jacket out of the closet. He was glad that Sue had agreed to order him the male version of the jackets that the girls had. The lifters wore the same letterman jackets as the jocks. He knew the jocks wouldn't take it well if he wore one like they wore, but he also didn't want to wear a girl's jacket.

His jacket had the Cheerios logo embroidered across the shoulder blade area on the back, in the same style as the hoods on the girls' jackets with an additional layer of white edging to set it off. His had a regular collar like the jackets the jocks wore. The sleeves were red wool like the girls' jackets, not white pleather like the jocks. It was also a slightly longer cut than the girls' jackets.

He put the jacket on top of the suitcase. He walked back toward the door and double-checked that it was locked. He took his pajamas off and laid them on the corner of the dresser and got in bed with Sebastian. "Can I lie on you?"

"Always."

Kurt wrapped himself around Sebastian and they got comfortable. "Thank you for doing everything."

"You're welcome. I'm just glad you got all your schoolwork done so we can enjoy ourselves this weekend."

"Me too. You did put pajamas in the suitcase somewhere, right?"

"Yes, as much as I prefer sleeping without them, I did pack a set for each of us."

"Good." Kurt yawned.

Sebastian pulled him closer even though he couldn't get any closer.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They were outside putting the suitcase and Kurt's letter jacket in the back of the Navigator when Nick and Jeff pulled up. They tossed a single small weekender into the back. Kurt closed the back and everyone climbed into the Navigator and put their seatbelts on. Kurt pulled out and they headed out of town.

Jeff was the first to speak. "Thanks for inviting us. We've never been to Indianapolis before. This will be a lot of fun."

"I hope you're not too bored at the cheerleading competition."

"It can't be boring with that much activity, I don't think," Nick said.

Sebastian looked back and waggled his eyebrows at the two of them. "And there's always all the girls in short skirts to watch, right?"

Nick responded, "Right. Jeff and I want to tell you something. Remember when you asked us about our families and stuff."

"Yeah."

"Well, we didn't lie to you. We just didn't tell you the whole story about starting school at Dalton."

"Alright."

"Jeff and I are from Cleveland and our dads are in practice together. We've been friends our whole lives. We did go to a private middle school. The part we left out was that we also started at a private high school. He and I had been popular in middle school and had quite a few friends. We started high school with the same group of people we had been friends with, some for three years."

Jeff continued, "We were young and had had the same group of friends for a long time, like Nick just said. Well, he and I didn't think about how something small could change all of that in an instant. The first week of school, he and I were in one of the bathrooms together, in a stall together – kissing."

Nick added, "We had been best friends for a long time. We started dating that summer between middle school and high school. Our parents knew and they were fine with it."

"So, someone came in the bathroom as we came out of the stall together and saw us and spread it around the school. It took just one school day for pretty much everyone to find out. A lot of our friends were perfectly fine with it. Some of them had suspected, but since we hadn't actually started dating in the 8th grade, no one had known for certain."

"The next morning, we got passes summoning us to the office and when we got there, we saw that our parents had been called to the school. And for surgeons to show up when they were supposed to be operating on people or seeing patients, we knew something serious had happened," Nick said.

"We went in and sat down and the principal read part of the school's charter or code of behavior, or whatever it was, out loud to all of us. It turned out that since it was a Catholic private school, we were expelled for our lack of moral standards. Rather than our dads attempting to force them to change their policy, they opted to look for a new placement for us."

"We all sat down together and talked. We knew the public school in the area wouldn't be a good fit because we were already ahead academically from having attended the private middle school, where we took high school classes in 8th grade so that we could take AP classes by the time we were seniors. And along with not offering AP classes, our local public school wasn't likely to be open-minded about us being together."

"So in their search, our dads found Dalton and the No Bullying policy and enrolled both of us. They let us room together, which surprised both of us, but they felt bad for sending us away and wanted us to have each other and be happy."

Kurt spoke up, "So you two have been dating for three and a half years?"

"And your families are okay with it?" Sebastian asked before anyone had had a chance to answer Kurt's question.

Nick laughed and answered them both. "Yes to Kurt, and yes to Sebastian."

"So, why tell us? Since you've obviously kept it on the DL for all these years," Kurt asked.

"Well, because we're tired of pretending and we honestly figured you two would be happy for us and we could be ourselves around you."

"Well, that's true of course. Since Dalton has a No Bullying policy, why do you keep it a secret?"

"I guess when we first arrived, we were both still sort of shell-shocked that some of our friends were very negative and unaccepting and had dropped us like hot coals," Nick answered.

"We were new and didn't know anyone. We were afraid that, even though no one could bully us, we'd be ostracized. We grew up pretty middle class, other than attending the private school. Neither of us lives in a mansion or anything like that. There were people with so much money and such high social standing, we decided to lay low. And I guess after a while, we just got used to being 'Nick and Jeff who are best friends' as our public presentations of ourselves."

Kurt said, "I can understand that. Dalton is really not the place for non-conformists. They don't allow bullying other than their own institutional control over the students dress and behavior, but I can totally understand the fear aspect. When I came to spy and then later enroll, it was pretty overwhelming."

"For me too. I told you guys that I didn't open up to anyone because I had nothing in my room. I'd hear people talking about flying to Florida for the weekend just because they wanted to get away for a couple of days. Or how they'd been at their grandparents' cottage in Italy over the summer before going on a 3-week cruise. I felt like I was in some alternate universe. I'm still curious as to why you're telling us now."

"Well, part of it is that you trusted us with something and we think you're trustworthy. The other part is that we we're working on our 'coming out' plan. We've both decided that we are not going to go to college pretending to only be best friends. We've realized that high school and college are both transitional times. We moved from where we grew up to stay in the dorms all year. We'll do the same for college. We'll move to another town and live together, one way or another. But this time, the people we make friends with are more likely to be people we'll keep in touch with. Not everyone, of course. But it's more likely. We want to make friends with people who want to be friends with us as a couple."

Kurt said, "That makes a lot of sense. How long have you known you were gay?"

"I'm not," Nick said.

"I've known since I was young," Jeff responded. "The fact that Nick liked girls kept me from telling him for a long time, even though we were best friends."

"That's part of why we didn't say anything to you last year. Blaine told us what you said about bisexuality."

"Oh, God. Not that again. He was being an ass to me. I say one thing I didn't mean except as a way to poke at him and he tells everyone that I don't think bisexuality exists. The first, and only, girl I dated is bisexual. Of course, I know bisexuality exists. I was just really pissed at Blaine. He had told me he was gay, and then he accepted a date with a girl who loves nothing more than to beat me at everything. She KNEW I liked him. I had told her just a few days before that I thought that Blaine and I had been dating for ages. He asked me what I thought about serenading someone on for Valentine's Day and I thought he meant ME. I told him I thought it was romantic. Then he sprung the GAP Attack on us – one thing I am utterly ashamed for participating in. We all outed someone that day. Jeremiah got fired because of what we did."

"No. What? You're kidding right?" Jeff asked.

"Nope, not kidding at all. Blaine and I were outside when he came out. He told us that no one knew he was gay and that he had been fired. Nothing we could ever do could make up for doing that to him. We should have been expelled or at least suspended for participating in that travesty."

"So, back to what you were saying," Nick said. "Blaine knew that you liked him. This girl knew that you liked Blaine. And she asked him out on a date and he accepted? And you were a first hand witness to this?"

"Exactly. I asked him why he was leading her on. I mean, God, that is all he had done with me, wasn't it? He took me out for coffee and paid most of the time. He sat with me, he put his hands on my shoulders, his arm around my shoulders, took me by the hand, and all that physical stuff that I completely thought meant that he liked me and that the coffee dates that we went on and watching movies in our rooms together and stuff were real dates. I thought he was going to make it officially official by singing to me on Valentine's. But no, he sang to Jeremiah. Anyway, after that, I still was friends with him because I thought that once he got over Jeremiah, he might realize that we could be more than friends and to be honest, he was really my only friend at Dalton. Everyone kept their distance most of the time."

"If it's any consolation, we thought the two of you were dating as well," Jeff said.

"We thought you had broken up when he presented the GAP Attack idea. Anyway, go on with your story. The GAP Attack happened and then the singing at Breadstix on Valentine's Day. And then what?"

"I invited him to go with me to a New Directions party. We went. He got smashed. We played Spin the Bottle. His spin landed on a girl, who he kissed. And I mean really kissed, making out kissing."

"Oh, wow," Jeff said laughing.

"So, a couple of days later, we were at the Lima Bean getting coffee and she called and asked him out on a date. I got aggravated and told him it wasn't nice to lead people on. He obviously still didn't get that my jab was at how he had been treating me, which was leading me on for all that time. His retort was that he wasn't leading her on and that maybe he was bi since he had enjoyed the kiss with her at the party. I got even more upset and told him that bi was just what gay high school boys who wanted to feel normal called themselves when they dated girls."

"Ooh… not nice," Nick said.

"I know. I shouldn't have said it. But, God I was mad. This girl set herself up as my total rival at McKinley and she took everything from me every time. My first guy crush, which was never going to go anywhere because he was straight, but she intentionally went after him. She was either given or demanded every solo that I was suited for. And she knew, 100% knew, that I liked Blaine. And she invited him out on a date after he had friend-zoned me. When we met up at the Lima Bean the day after their date, I told her that I didn't think it was going to end well. She actually said she didn't care if I got hurt because she could end up with someone who could keep up with her vocally and give her slightly Eurasian looking children."

"Wow," Jeff said. "Burn."

"So, anyway, I regret what I said about bisexuals. I don't actually believe that they don't exist. I think that some gay guys pretend to be bisexual to fit into high school because I tried dating girls. Me, who is absolutely 1000% gay – I dated a girl to try to fit in. Gay guys do it all the time. That didn't give me the right to slander bisexuals as a group and say that their orientation is invalid in any way. It was a mean thing to say and I am sorry, for what it's worth. My penance is that my stepbrother is marrying this harridan next weekend and she's going to be my sister-in-law."

"Oh, God that's awful," Nick said. "Look, I accept your apology. Being bisexual is hard because of the very thing you said. Society accepts straight people. Society sort of accepts gay people, at least more people are beginning to realize that being gay isn't a choice. And when something isn't a choice, other people are somewhat more accepting. This is a stupid example, but if someone is vegetarian or vegan, we consider that to be a choice. Those people get teased – 'just try a hamburger, you'll like it' and what not. But if someone says, 'I'm allergic to beef' – no one bothers them much because they can't eat it, but it's not a choice they're making. When a bisexual person chooses a same-sex partner, we're looked at like we're nuts. Why would we intentionally make our lives harder by choosing a same-sex partner? Gay guys think we're shady because we could just drop them for a girl and fit in. Girls think they can't offer us what we 'really' want. It would honestly be a lot easier to not be bisexual."

"And I didn't make that any easier. I'm really sorry."

"I already said that I accept your apology. I understand that you were angry and for a good reason. Blaine was being a jerk. And he was even more of a jerk to repeat what you said with no context, making it seem like that was your absolute stance on the issue."

"I hope there weren't a lot of people around."

"Honestly, I don't remember. Just hearing that you believed that… Honestly, I should have gone to you and asked. So, that's on me."

"Well, me too, since I didn't ask you either," Jeff said. "But what you said hit home because that was my original reason for not telling Nick sooner. I knew he liked girls and I didn't. I just didn't know that he liked guys too. We both kept that from each other for a long time. Eventually he got up the nerve to tell me."

"And then we both felt stupid for not sharing the information sooner. Our parents were fine with it when we started dating. Mine were a little more surprised since I had shown interest in girls for a long time."

"There's a lot of pressure on the gay partner of a bisexual. They get teased a lot and get told that they better be a really good bottom and good at blow jobs or their partners will leave them and go find a gorgeous girl to replace them. The whole 'Why would he want you when he's good looking and could find a gorgeous girl to date?' – is hard to deal with. This isn't from that much personal experience, but it is from some. We are more open on the internet where we can use fake names and hide behind the anonymity. I've talked to other gay partners of bisexual guys online and I know what I'll be facing once we come out as a couple."

"Trust me, it would be easier to just say that I'm gay since I'm with Jeff, but that would be lying and contributing to the ongoing myth that bisexuality isn't real."

"I get it. And I do understand. I still feel bad about what I said."

"As long as that's not what you really believe, it's fine. We've all said stupid things when we were mad before. Trust me," Nick said.

"Alright. Thanks."

"So, tell us about the two of you. How did this start?" Jeff asked.

Sebastian started, "Well, he's gorgeous of course and I'm not blind. He was with Blaine the day we met at the Lima Bean. But he broke up with Blaine just a couple of days later. He kept being nice to me and inviting me to his house and stuff. He was just being his regular, kind self. He kept teasing me that he knew that deep down I was a nice guy and he was going to wear me down and get the gruff exterior to fall off."

Jeff laughed.

"I fell hard, but there were so many reasons why it was a bad idea. Plus, like I said, he had just broken up with Blaine. So, I just kept my feelings to myself and let him get closer to me, which was hard, but worth it."

"So, who eventually asked who out?" Nick asked.

"Well, I did. I thought he was going back to Paris, so like him, I kept my feelings to myself and we were just friends for a long time. We got to know each other and like he said, he came to my house and spent time together as friends."

"Eventually I told him about my father. I moved in with them right before Christmas. His dad and their attorney confronted my father soon afterwards. We were still just friends at that point, even though I really liked him." Sebastian smiled. "I had a real home for the first time and it was all pretty overwhelming."

"Then about five weeks ago, I found out that he was going to stay in Ohio and not go back to Paris at the end of May and I asked him if he'd be my boyfriend."

"And I said yes, of course."

"That's really sweet," Jeff said.

"What made you decide to stay?" Nick asked.

"Long before Kurt's family took me in, I had applied for early admission at an Ohio college to see if I could get in and give myself more options. Going back to Paris was my default option. It wasn't really an active choice I had made. I was just trying to make it through the school year and go back to the life I was familiar with that didn't include my father in it. I got into the university and was offered a scholarship, which I accepted. I showed Kurt the letter. Later that night, I told him that I had decided to stay – then he asked me."

"So, your coming out plan includes telling us. Then what?" Kurt asked.

"We've decided we'll do the normal couple-y things at school. Just little things, like holding hands and sitting closer than we've allowed ourselves to sit. We'll see how things go. There's less than three months left of school."

Sebastian changed the subject and asked, "What happens if we lose Regionals?"

Nick answered, "We'll drop to meeting just once a week. We'll sing at the end of the year concert and at graduation, but that will just be one new song to learn. We'll sing the other six songs we've performed this year at the concert, intermixed with the orchestra and solo pieces from the orchestra members."

Kurt spoke up. "If we lose, that's it for the year. We used to perform at assemblies, but that hasn't happened in a long time, mostly because of poor song choices by Mr. Schuester and by the group itself. We don't have a concert at the end of the year and we've never sung at graduation, but I guess that's a possibility since this is the first year that anyone in the group has graduated. There are…" Kurt paused to count. "Ten out of our core group of 15 are graduating. And one of the ones not graduating is an exchange student."

"Wow. So, New Directions will have to build from scratch pretty much."

"Yep. That's what we did three years ago when we started. There were five of us to start with. Two freshman and three sophomores – it was me, Rachel, Artie, Mercedes, and Tina. But that's a good point that you've brought up. I think I'll point out the fact that Artie and Tina need to be featured at Nationals, if we make it. Rachel will demand the solo since she's graduating, but with the group rebuilding, it's unlikely that Tina or Artie will get a chance to go to Nationals next year. We'll need a group number that features each person somehow."

"That seems unusual."

"That's just because you all are used to being the vocal instruments. When all of your singers are singers, instead of trumpets or violins or drums, it makes sense to feature each person, at least briefly if they've been a part of the group for a long time."

"I suppose so. You know the two of us tried all last year to get a lead, but it always went to Blaine."

"Well, I've never heard the two of you sing together or individually since the auditions were always private. I think they were also a farce. No one ever got a solo except Blaine and I never saw him audition, but I guess he could have."

"You sang with him," Nick said.

"That was his idea. We'd have been better off singing 'Animal' than 'Candles'. That was just a stupid choice."

Jeff laughed. "It really was, but we were all to blame. We should have mutinied."

"You didn't seem to enjoy singing 'Animal'," Nick said.

"Yeah, but I would have gotten my act together and done a good job in competition. I just wasn't in the mood. He took up study time to go show off for the Crawford County Day girls and then took pleasure in turning down the two of them that hung around to give him their numbers."

Nick laughed. "So, he had flipped back to 'I'm 100% gay' after one date with a girl?"

"Yep. And then in a few days' time, he told the council he wanted his solo changed to a duet and he chose me to sing with him and then kissed me and we started dating. It seems like it's 'share my bad life choices' as our topic for today. My crush on a straight boy, inviting Blaine to a party where he got smashed and made out with a girl right in front of me, saying stupid things about bisexual people, me agreeing to date him after he had done all of those things. I should write a book about stupid things lonely gay boys do in rural America. Not that anyone would buy it, but I've got quite a bit of content for it."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. Half the Warblers have had hard-ons for him and most of them aren't even gay or bi," Jeff laughed.

Nick agreed, "He's right, Kurt. We all did absolutely stupid stuff when he was the lead singer. You're right that we should have all been expelled or at least suspended for what we did to Jeremiah. We all stood and practiced that song. One of us should have come to our senses and realized that singing that song was completely inappropriate. If he wanted to serenade someone, he should have chosen an appropriate song and it should have been anonymous. The person being serenaded would know, but could remain in the crowd, just listening. Blaine followed him around the store."

"What did you guys sing?" Sebastian asked.

"'When I Get You Alone'," Kurt answered.

"Oh, God. That song is not exactly PG."

"Nope, and Blaine didn't change the lyrics to make it PG either," Jeff said.

"Obviously, no one at the school ever found out what we sang. We met there after school on our own. It wasn't an official event," Nick said.

"But we all showed up in our full uniforms. It's not like someone couldn't have identified us," Kurt said.

"At least we don't have to worry about him trying to get us to help him serenade anyone now," Nick said.

"That's true," Jeff said.

"At least if what Aaron says is true," Nick said.

"Who's Aaron?" Sebastian asked.

"The person you were pretending to be last semester?" Jeff offered.

"What?"

"When you were acting like a player, like you were this super-experienced Parisian slut."

"Oh, that."

"Well, Aaron is the real thing. He said that Blaine has given up on his attempt to be anyone's boyfriend and he's gone back to just hooking up."

"WHAT?" Kurt practically shouted.

"It's what I heard Aaron saying," Jeff said. "From what he said, he and Blaine have been friends with benefits for ages. I didn't ask what that meant, but he certainly made it sound like it started long before last October when the two of you broke up. I don't know, though."

"New topic. I can't deal with this one and drive safely."

"Got it. So, we're going to the Indiana State Museum today," Nick changed the topic completely. "I saw on the website that they have a Foucault's pendulum. I've never seen one and it sounds cool."

Everyone talked about their upcoming museum visits for the rest of the drive.

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"I like the underground parking with green space above it. Very nice," Nick said when they drove down into the parking lot.

Kurt took the ticket from the machine and the arm went up. They found a spot close to the entrance and went inside. They got in line and got their tickets.

"Top down or bottom up?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know. Let's go look at a map," Sebastian said. He took Kurt's hand and walked to a bench to look at the map he was holding.

Nick saw Sebastian holding Kurt's hand and reached over for Jeff's. He startled a first, but then interlaced their fingers and sat down on the bench next to Sebastian.

"The longer we sit here, the less we see. Let's just start at the top and look around," Jeff said.

"Good plan," Sebastian agreed.

The four of them stood up and looked around. Kurt spotted the sign that indicated the location of the elevator. He took off walking toward it, still holding Sebastian's hand. Nick and Jeff followed along behind them.

Once they got out of the elevator, they just started looking around. Once they had finished looking at everything on the top floor, they walked down the stairs one level and started looking around again.

"The taxidermied animals are kind of creepy. It looks like what I've always imagined the forest would look like in Sleeping Beauty," Kurt said.

"It kind of does, doesn't it?" Nick said.

They kept looking around. "This room is cool," Kurt said. "We see stuff like this on old TV shows and movies, but seeing it all in color in a room together in person is interesting."

They made their way through the whole floor and went down to the next level. "Ooh, the dinosaurs and stuff are on this floor," Jeff said.

The four of them made their way through the darkened ice age area and had fun playing with the seismograph by jumping up and down to cause mini earthquakes and watching them be recorded.

They wandered all through the rocks, minerals, and geodes area and finally made it to where they could see the pendulum knocking over the dominoes as it moved by an invisible force. Kurt bought a postcard in the museum store before they headed back upstairs to eat.

When they came out of the restaurant, Jeff point out an area they had missed. "There's more stuff down there. Let's go look before we leave."

They visited the last section of the museum and then headed back to the main floor.

"Let's go out the back door and see what's out there," Jeff pointed. "It's like a regular entrance – there must be a reason."

They went out the back and found a canal with wide sidewalks along each side.

"Ooh, that's cool," Kurt said. "It looks like you can walk along it and it connects to the other places we saw in the area. I bet you can walk to the zoo and stuff."

"I bet there's lots of cool stuff that goes on when it's not so cold outside," Jeff said.

"Yeah, when I was looking at the Native American museum next door, it mentioned that they have markets when it's warm, with food and artwork and stuff," Sebastian said.

"That would be cool," Kurt said. "Let's go back inside. I'm cold."

They went back in, walked through the lobby, and out to the parking lot.

"I really need to change. There was a bathroom not too far inside. Come inside and let me get dressed in there instead of trying to do it in the Navigator." Kurt grabbed his uniform and switched his coat.

They followed him inside and waited for him to change. He handed Sebastian his jacket on the way into the handicapped stall. He came out of the stall and Sebastian wolf whistled.

"I like the new shirt. It shows off your arms," he smirked and winked at Kurt.

"Hush you." He blushed. "The shirt wasn't my idea."

"I still like it. Excuse us for a minute." He handed Kurt's jacket to Jeff and he pushed Kurt back into the stall and kissed him. He opened the door up, led them out, and Jeff offered Kurt his coat.

Nick and Jeff were laughing. "Now I see why they make us all wear long sleeves. They don't want those of us who like guys drooling during class," Jeff said.

Kurt mock punched him in the upper arm. "Knock it off."

"What?" Jeff asked.

"Don't make fun of me."

"Who's making fun of anyone? I'm completely serious. If you went around school like that, you'd figure out who the guys that like guys are really quick." Jeff laughed again.

"Whatever, you dork. Let's go so I'm not late. My coach is not appreciative of tardiness."

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They made it to their seats and Kurt gave Sebastian a quick kiss and headed down to find the rest of the Cheerios.

"You two are cute together," Jeff said.

"Thanks?"

"We've never seen him relaxed. He was always so proper."

"He was trying to fit in. That's what Blaine told him to do. He made it abundantly clear to Kurt that fitting in and being like everyone else was his key to being accepted at Dalton."

"I see," Jeff said.

"Not exactly the truth," Nick added. "But I could see why Kurt would believe it. He was so far behind and the classes were so above where he was academically that he spent most of his time studying. I honestly don't know how he did it. He came in the week before Sectionals and learned the music and the dances and he managed to learn a semester's worth of material in like four or five weeks."

"He's smart," Sebastian said. "Going back to McKinley was a step down for him academically. He's not challenged. They just give him a bunch of stuff that takes time to do."

"Yeah, I meant what I said at the table that night. If we had banded together, we could have kept him at Dalton. He would have been great to have on the council since he actually knows what it takes to win the competitions."

"Well, I don't know that he would have let you do it. He might have for the end of the spring term because transferring back just gave him a lot of work to do a second time since the material covered in the two schools isn't the same. But I don't think he would have let you all pay for him to stay this whole school year. He's very independent."

"You're probably right," Nick said.

"If you can find out, I want to know if Blaine was hooking up with Aaron while they were dating."

"Why?" Jeff asked.

"Blaine came at me the other day and I'm fed up with him."

"Alright. I listen in to conversations when I can," Jeff agreed. "But I'm not going to ask questions. Aaron will tell Blaine that I'm being nosy. Blaine might retaliate. I don't want to get kicked out of the Warblers or something."

"You think he'd do that?"

"He might. He's part of the 'old money' at Dalton. His family is pretty influential. I overheard him and Jamison talking last year. He told Kurt some cockamamie story about being bullied before he came to Dalton. Jamison was laughing."

"What? This is all getting too weird for me. Don't tell me anything else. I changed my mind. The less I know about him, the better. The more you talk, the more I feel like decking him and I'd like to graduate, not be expelled."

"How long until Kurt's squad performs?" Nick asked. "It's 2:50."

"They're not on until 4:00."

"Ugh. That's a long wait."

"Not too bad," Sebastian said. "The competition resumes at 3:00. This is just a 30-minute break for the judges to eat and whatnot."

"Alright, so there will at least be something to watch soon," Jeff said.

"I'm not sure if he has to stay here until it ends though. He might and that's not until 6:00. You could always go find a single bathroom and go in together and make out for a while after his squad performs." Sebastian laughed.

"Don't temp us," Jeff said. "We're already wondering how we can make out in the hotel room with you two there."

"We can take long showers. One couple makes out on their bed while the other is in the shower," Sebastian suggested.

Nick whispered, "Shower blow jobs? Good idea." And then added, "I didn't bring the right lube for shower sex." He laughed and winked at Sebastian. "Actually I didn't bring any lube at all because we're sharing a room."

Sebastian blushed.

"I'm taking it that you guys haven't…" Nick said.

"No, we haven't."

"Alright," Jeff said. "We won't tease about it then."

"Thanks."

"Five weeks isn't that long together, so we can understand not wanting to move that quickly. We had been together a long time before we made that choice," Nick said.

"We were really young too, so waiting was a good idea."

"I really love him and hopefully we'll know when we're ready."

"Wow. Does he know that you love him?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah." He smiled all the way to his eyes.

A buzzer went off and then an announcement could he heard over the PA. "The competition will resume in 10 minutes. Please return to your seats."

The three of them sat through the first hour of the competition watching each group. By the time the Cheerios were next up, they were definitely ready to see Kurt perform.

The group of 20 cheerleaders, 5 male, 15 female, lined up in formation.

"William McKinley High School, you may now begin."

The guys they brought with them were all strong enough to lift their flyers on their own. Kurt was the fifth flyer, but he had four girls lift him in the center. The other four flyers went through their movements and dropped to the floor to move into their gymnastics floor routine.

The four male lifters moved to the center lift Kurt who continued with the flips and poses in the air while the rest of the cheerleaders did combinations of cartwheels, back handsprings, back tucks, and back layouts. Sebastian knew this part of the routine because he had seen it several times at the home half-time shows.

Kurt performed with the male lifters because despite his best efforts, he had not mastered back layouts or standing back tucks and it distracted from the uniformity of the routine when he put his hands down for the flips. But with the four male bases, he got a lot of height on his flying moves, which got him a lot of attention and applause.

Once the gymnastic and cheer aspects of the requirements had been met, the music started and the four lifters moved to the sides and knelt. The girls and Kurt took their positions and started moving to the music. Somehow Brittany had managed to put on the pants and take the skirt off without Sebastian noticing. The crowd was surprised to hear the trio start to sing since so few groups even used music with lyrics this time.

The three of them did a combination of Madonna's video choreography mixed with Santana and Brittany's. It looked really good and they sounded great together. The three of them pulled off looking absolutely sultry without looking over the top for a high school competition. When the song ended, the squad froze. The audience jumped up and screamed and applauded.

After a few seconds, the whole squad did an about face and marched directly to the back of the performance area and exited the area. That's when Sebastian noticed that one of the lifters was holding Brittany's skirt in his hand that was away from the audience. Obviously at some point the two bases had blocked her from view and she had slipped the pants up and the skirt off. She had done a great job of not being noticed.

Once they had filed off, Sebastian stopped the recording on his phone and put it back in his pocket.

Jeff was the first to speak. "Neither of you told us he was a flyer, and not only that, he is lead flyer and one of the singers."

"No one asked?" Sebastian said.

"That was totally hot," Jeff said. "Obviously what we saw during 'Animal' wasn't his finest work." He laughed.

"I'd say not," Nick added.

"Stop perving on my boyfriend," Sebastian scolded them.

"Your boyfriend is hot," Jeff said. "Every gay or bi guy in this room is perving on your boyfriend right now. He just got out there and sexy danced for like four minutes WHILE singing. And the gymnastics and the flying? He has every guy who likes guys in here thinking about all of the things he could do in bed with those arms and those hips."

"That routine would be the way to find out who's straight," Nick teased.

"Enough already. I get it. He's hot. I know. But he's not available."

"But all the guys sitting around in here don't know that," Jeff teased him again.

Sebastian didn't say anything else and turned his attention back to the competition area. He knew there was just an hour left before the top five were announced. It was a long hour, but he watched, pretending to be very interested, but Jeff's words were poking at him still.

The announcer turned on the PA and called the five finalists back to the floor. The team captains drew a number and they performed their routines a second time for the final placement.

Sebastian recorded their performance again. He focused on the recording more this time than he had the first time. Once all five teams had finished, there was 10-minute recess for the judges to decide. The five teams stood in formation on the field in a semi-circle waiting for the judging. Sebastian got up out of his seat. Jeff and Nick gave him a weird look.

"I'm going to try to get closer so I can get a good picture of him and the whole team. We told his parents we'd record it for them to watch since they couldn't come."

"Oh, got it. We'll just wait here."

Sebastian went down closer and managed to slip into an empty seat in the front row. He saw Kurt see him. He winked at Kurt. Kurt winked back. Sebastian used his camera and took a picture of the group together and then zoomed in on Kurt and took a few shots.

The teams were named in reverse order and when the runner up and had been named, the Cheerios knew they had won. They stayed in formation. The trophy was placed on the ground in front of them. Sebastian took a few photos. Once the team photos had been taken by the official photographers, Kurt took off running toward Sebastian, who had just barely managed to get his camera in his pocket in time to brace himself for Kurt's flying bear hug, but it only lasted for a couple of seconds.

"I have to go back with the team for a minute. I'll get my coat and come up to the seats as soon as I can." And he vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

Sebastian laughed and made his way back up into the stands to sit and wait for Kurt to come meet them. What seemed like two hours, but was just about 10 minutes later, Kurt came up the stairs from the floor area. He was smiling, but looked really tired.

"Congratulations!" Nick said.

"Thanks!"

"You did great! I didn't know you were a flyer or that you were a featured singer. That was a big surprise. I've never seen a male flyer," Jeff said.

"It's a cover for the fact that I can't do the aerial flips. I do air tricks while the girls do the gymnastics on the floor. I've tried and tried, but I think I'm just too old to learn to do it? Or I'm too heavy? I'm not sure, but I've trained and trained and just can't do the standing back tucks or the aerial back flips of any type."

"Well, it's a good cover then because it's very impressive. I don't think it's your weight. I think it's probably the fact that you are old enough to be afraid. I bet if you tried training on a trampoline, you could do it. You had the height you'd need from what I saw when you were doing the regular back handsprings. Or with wires. I bet if you trained with those you could do it. I bet there's no one there to spot you that you trust."

"That may be it. She doesn't have the guys come in for gymnastics rehearsals. If I stay on the squad, I might talk to her about getting them to come in or going somewhere to train with the wires or a trampoline. How do you know anything about cheering anyway?"

"My sister. She's 5 years older than me. She cheered. We used to go watch her. Her team was never anywhere as good as the teams here today, though."

Kurt nodded, and then abruptly changed the subject. "Are we still on for the Spaghetti Factory?" Kurt asked. "I'm starving."

"Let's get moving," Sebastian said. He took Kurt's hand and they filed out of the row and headed out the building.

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"This was totally worth the walk," Kurt said. "This is so cool. I wish I had changed my clothes though. I'd rather be dressed in my own clothes than this uniform."

They all looked around at the ornate furniture and the fringed lampshades and the elaborate décor in general.

"Don't worry about it. You're not the only one here in uniform." There was a group of girls being seated and one waiting in line behind them.

"Yeah, but all of their uniforms have sleeves. What's with Coach Sue and the sleeveless uniforms anyway? We were the only ones I think."

"Maybe she likes arms," Nick teased.

"Gross," Kurt said. "Hush. I don't want to think about what she likes. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that it's easier to tumble in them. Most of the groups had the straight skirts like the Cheerios did my sophomore year. Those things are restricting. The flap skirts like our girls have are a lot easier to move in. I'm sure that's her reasoning."

Nick dropped it.

"How many in your party?"

"Four."

"Right this way. Is sitting in the trolley okay with you?"

"Definitely," Jeff answered.

She led them to a small four-person table inside the trolley. They took their coats off, hung them on the back of their chairs and sat down.

"This is really cool," Sebastian said.

They all nodded and looked around. They picked up their menus and made their choices. Kurt and Sebastian had agreed ahead of time to split something and snack on the breakfast bars they brought later if they were still hungry. When the waitress came back, she took their orders.

"You're splitting something after you claimed starvation?"

"We'll see. If we're still hungry, we can always get something else," Kurt said.

"We usually split dinners, but like he said, if he's still hungry, we can order some dessert or get something else later," Sebastian said. He took Kurt's hand under the table and interlaced their fingers.

Kurt smiled. He ran his thumb along Sebastian's index finger gently, which made Sebastian smile too.

"I'm glad it's over for now. I just have to figure out whether I want to continue or not. We're going to Nationals, but that will mean a bucketload and I mean a serious number of practices. We have this week off, which I'm glad for, but Mr. Schue found out and scheduled extra practices before school all week long, which you three will not be sharing with the rest of the Warblers or Rachel will kill me for telling you."

"Right. We won't say anything," Nick said. "We'll just practice as hard as we can. We want to win too."

"I know. I wish there were some way we could tie, so we could all go."

"That would be cool, but I think it's impossible," Sebastian said.

"I know."

It didn't take long for their food to come. They ate and enjoyed it. Once they were finished, they made the trek back to where they had parked near the stadium. Once they were standing close enough to touch the doors, Kurt unlocked them and they got in and he relocked the doors quickly.

He pulled out his phone and found the closest CVS and drove straight to the location. He went inside and in an effort to hide the real reason for his stop, he bought a bag of chocolate covered pretzels and a few other small bags of chocolates.

He came back out and drove to the hotel they were staying in, which was only about a 5-minute drive. He parked. He switched back to his regular coat while Sebastian grabbed the suitcase. Nick grabbed their bag. Kurt double-checked that the Navigator was locked and they headed inside. They checked in and went up to their room.

"I really want to shower and put my pajamas on," Kurt said.

"That's fine. I would want to do the same," Jeff said. "Go ahead. You can go first. Take your time." He winked at Kurt. "Hotels have plenty of hot water."

Kurt took their suitcase and put it on the dresser. He took out both pairs of pajamas and took them to the bathroom. Sebastian followed him and shut the door behind him. They undressed and Kurt had red marks all over his back.

"Mon étoile, what's this from?"

"Oh, it's fine. Let's shower. Get in and turn the water on. I'll be right in. I'm so tired."

Sebastian did as Kurt requested. Kurt pulled the pain relief bottles out of his pants pockets, opened them and used one of the cups in the bathroom to swallow them down with a drink of water. He put the bottles in their toiletries bag and got in the shower with Sebastian.

Sebastian didn't like the twitching he got when washing Kurt's back as gently as he could. He refrained from asking again right then because clearly Kurt wasn't going to give him a straight answer yet. It was a purely utilitarian shower, Kurt switched places with him, keeping his back to him, and they got out as soon as they were done. Kurt put his undershirt on as quickly as possible, still facing away from Sebastian.

Kurt moisturized and managed to get Sebastian to let him do his face as well, mostly because Sebastian was hoping to get Kurt to tell him what happened by keeping him occupied. He grabbed all of their stuff, put it back in the toiletries bag, and moved it to the back corner of the sink area. He opened the door and they headed straight for the empty bed.

"Take your time. There's plenty of hot water. I just wanted to lie down as soon as possible," Kurt said.

"Alright," Jeff responded. He grabbed their pajamas and toiletries and Nick followed him into the bathroom.

Kurt turned the TV on and found the music station and turned the volume down to where they could hear it, but it wasn't loud. Sebastian lay back on the bed and opened his arm for Kurt to lie on him, which he did happily. He pushed his pillow into a position where he could both lie on Sebastian and kiss him. Knowing what Kurt's back looked like, Sebastian turned on his side a bit and wrapped his hand around Kurt's upper thigh, just below his butt, to hold him in position rather than wrapping his arm around Kurt's back.

Kurt caressed Sebastian's face with his free hand. "I love you so much."

Sebastian felt Kurt relaxing in his arms. He allowed himself to get comfortable and Kurt squirmed a little closer and it was only a few minutes before Sebastian could feel Kurt breathing rhythmically. He closed his eyes and hoped that Nick and Jeff would notice that Kurt was already asleep and would keep quiet when they came in the room.

When they came back from the bathroom, he caught Jeff's attention and put his finger to his mouth. He whispered, "He's out. You two can watch a movie or whatever. I'm just going to lie here. He bought snacks in that bag from CVS. Help yourselves."

Jeff nodded. He took a bag of chocolate-covered peanuts and grabbed the remote control and got in bed. He and Nick found a movie to watch and snuggled up together.

Sebastian tried to sleep, but struggled to do so, despite being tired. Something had happened to Kurt and he was concerned. Eventually, exhaustion won out and he fell asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

During the night, Sebastian awoke to Kurt sobbing quietly and saying, "No. Stop, please."

He didn't know whether to wake him, but when he continued for a couple of minutes, he ran his thumb gently down Kurt's cheek wiping away the tears. He started speaking to him in French, hoping that it would help him realize that it was him, not whoever he was dreaming about. "_Kurt, mon étoile, I'm here. It's a bad dream. You're safe. I'm holding you. I love you."_

Kurt stirred and blinked. "Bas?"

"_Yes, it's me. I've got you. You're safe. We're in our hotel with Nick and Jeff."_

Kurt instantaneously relaxed and scooted closer to Sebastian and wrapped himself around him and intertwined anything he could manage and fell back asleep.

Sebastian lay there wondering how many nights Kurt had had nightmares and no one was there to comfort him. He thought about how amazingly strong Kurt was, yet so incredibly kind still. He wanted to know who had hurt his amazing boyfriend and he wanted to throttle the culprit, but he knew that he needed to keep his protective anger under control because Kurt wouldn't appreciate being treated like some damsel in distress when he was perfectly capable of physically defending himself if he chose to.

He didn't need a knight in shining armor to rescue him. He needed someone by his side to support his choice. He knew there was every possibility that whatever happened could have been worse if Kurt had attempted to fight back. Kurt had already told him that the main reason he never fought back was because it would just escalate the violence. Homophobic jocks would up the ante if a 'fairy' or 'fag' beat them at anything. He protected himself by not fighting back rather than risking his life to get in a few good punches.

Eventually Sebastian fell back asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was the first to wake up the next morning, which was expected since his internal alarm clock seemed to be permanently set for 6:00am, no matter what day of the week it was and disregarding the fact that it was still pitch dark outside.

He tried to get comfortable again, but now that he had slept off the exhaustion, the pain was preventing him from getting comfortable. He tried to sit up without waking Sebastian, but wasn't successful.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I just need to go to the bathroom."

Sebastian mumbled, "It's 6:00 already isn't it?"

"I think so." Kurt got out of the bed and headed to the bathroom. He didn't hear Sebastian follow him. He knocked gently and Kurt opened the door.

Sebastian had his phone in his hand. I want to photograph your injuries. I realize that you don't want to tell me what happened and I'll wait until you do, but they should be documented."

Kurt barely acknowledged Sebastian's statement with a slight nod. He winced as he took his t-shirt off.

Sebastian refrained from swearing. The red marks were still there, but they had darkened to a bruised discoloration. Kurt's abdomen was covered in bruises. He photographed him from all four sides. "Are you injured anywhere else?"

Kurt pulled his pajama pant leg up, but it wouldn't go up far enough. He took them off and took a towel off the rack and folded it to cover more than his underwear did and let Sebastian photograph his legs from all four sides as well. He slipped his pants back on as soon as he was done. "I can't let you photograph any of the rest of the injured areas. They'd be considered pornographic."

Sebastian was seeing red. He noticed the bruising on Kurt's wrists as well. He had been wearing wristbands during the competition.

Kurt rummaged through the toiletries bag and pulled out the pain relievers. He was careful not to let Sebastian see how many he was taking. "Let's go lie back down. I'll set my phone for 8:00 in case we fall back asleep."

Sebastian nodded and followed him back to the bed. Kurt left the t-shirt off and laid it on their suitcase as he walked past. He lay flat on his back as tears silently flowed down his cheeks. He reached for Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers.

Sebastian said nothing, knowing that Kurt needed to get it off his chest in his own time.

"Please don't say anything to Nick or Jeff. I want this to be a fun trip for the four of us. I've gone to school like this and no one knew a thing. You can just carry the suitcase and help me into my coat. You can help me get dressed in the bathroom or out here while they dress in the bathroom."

"Alright. I won't say anything because you have asked me not to."

"Thank you. Thank you for holding me last night. That's the first time I've ever been able to go back to sleep like that."

"I love you so much. I will always be there for you if it's in my power to do so." Sebastian ran his thumb across Kurt's thumb.

"It happened between the first time we performed and the second time. "I didn't even consider the fact that homophobic jocks would attend the competition to watch their girlfriends. None of the guys at McKinley ever come watch their girlfriends unless it's at an assembly or a home game they were going to attend or play in anyway."

He didn't say anything else for a while.

"When I came out of the stall, there were three of them. Two of them grabbed me by the wrists and shoved me against the paper towel dispenser slash trashcan that was inset into the wall. The top horizontal red marks are from the paper towel dispenser and the lower ones from the edge of the trashcan. The vertical ones are from the edges of the metal inset. The third guy kneed and punched me. It was a lesson about how 'a fairy flyer' wasn't allowed to show their girls up at competitions and how I needed to drop out before the Final Five Showcase. They left me there, leaving no marks that could be seen on my arms or face. I put myself back together as much as possible after I could finally get up and walk and went to Santana and got four ibuprofen. And then I went to one of the other girls and got three extra-strength acetaminophen. I downed all seven pills with a drink of water and sat down and waited for them to kick in."

By halfway through, Sebastian was crying. He kept gently caressing Kurt's hand and let him keep talking.

"So, that was around 4:15. So, by the time we got back to the room last night, the painkillers were wearing off. That's why I really stopped at CVS. I bought the snacks as a cover. I was in a lot of pain, but I was so exhausted that I fell asleep anyway. But now that I've slept enough to not be dead tired, I'm in too much pain to sleep, but the pills I just took should help in a little bit. I'll be fine then. I'm sorry."

"This is not your fault," was the first thing that Sebastian said. "Those guys obviously waited for you to exit the arena and head to the restroom. They followed you. They were laying in wait for you when you came out of the stall. It was completely premeditated. It was absolutely their choice to jump you and to hurt you."

"I shouldn't have gone alone."

"While that is a potentially true statement, there is no reason for it to be a true statement. People use public restrooms every day without getting the crap kicked out of them. I'm sure they had a fourth person as a lookout to keep from getting caught, making it look like the fourth guy was waiting in a line because the restroom was full."

"Possibly. I don't know."

"You will show the pictures to Coach Sue. It is proof of what you told her. She may have been witness to those jackasses trying to sit in our section that night, but she needs to see this."

"I'll think about it."

Sebastian rolled over and faced Kurt. "I'm not angry with you. I love you. I never considered that something like this would happen to you at a competition. If you continue on with the team, Coach Sue is getting a new team member. She's going to provide me with some type of McKinley shirt or hoodie or whatever so that I can be in the team area. I won't let you get jumped alone again."

"I love you too."

Sebastian wiped the tears from Kurt's face. He scooted closer so that their arms were touching while lying side by side, and he kept hold of Kurt's hand.

When the phone beeped at 8:00, Kurt got up and went in the bathroom. Sebastian followed him carrying their clothes from the suitcase. "I'm going to need to wear the jeans you were wearing yesterday, please."

"Sure, but why?"

"I'm too sore to wear my own jeans. They fit too tight."

Sebastian nodded and took Kurt's jeans back and put them in the suitcase and pulled out the ones he had worn the previous day and went back into the bathroom.

"You don't think they'll notice do you?"

"I doubt it. Plus, there's no way for them to know that we don't each own a pair. Levi's are pretty popular."

"True." Kurt put the jeans on. "Help me with the shirt, please." He put his hands back a bit and Sebastian slipped the shirt up his arms. "Thank you." Sebastian helped him tuck it in the back. He also helped him slip his belt through the loops. "The last task is to get my boots on. I'll do that while they're in here and can't see me." Kurt pocketed the small containers of painkillers.

They both finished getting ready and packed everything into the suitcase, and then woke Nick and Jeff up.

"Your turn, sleepyheads," Kurt said cheerfully.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian and Jeff took the bags out to the car. Nick and Kurt headed down to the breakfast area and started getting things ready. Kurt toasted a bagel and put cream cheese on both halves, half for each of them. He grabbed two boiled eggs for Sebastian and one for himself. He grabbed Sebastian a carton of yogurt and poured cups of coffee and orange juice. He had all of it on the table by the time Sebastian came back. Nick was still working on Jeff's waffle.

Sebastian sat down next to Kurt and kissed him. "Thank you."

They all ate and headed to the museum.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Let's just leave our coats in the car. There's a glassed-in walkway across to the museum," Jeff said.

They all put their coats in the back. Sebastian saw Kurt pop more pills and open the front to grab the bottle of water he brought from the hotel breakfast area. Kurt shut the door, hit the lock, grabbed Sebastian's hand, and headed towards the bridge. Nick and Jeff followed along behind.

"That is totally cool. I'm officially still a child," Jeff said when he saw the dinosaur half inside and half outside the building.

They bought their tickets and started at the top like they had the day before. They were the only ones in the water play area on the top floor.

"This is way more fun than it ought to be considering how old we are," Kurt said. He managed to keep his hands in the water enough to keep anyone from noticing his bruised wrists.

"Nah," Sebastian said quietly from right behind him. "Some of us never really got to be kids, so this makes up for it a little." He kissed the back of his neck and moved down to build a dam to keep the water flow limited to a narrow area. They built boats and watched them topple over and sink and laughed at themselves.

They climbed through the tunnels, worked together to build the arch using the big blocks, and looked at the water creatures before moving to the other exhibit area on the upper floor.

"These mirrors are great!" Nick laughed. "I'm wavy and Jeff's a stick."

They made their way through the lights and mirrors maze and managed to take some fun photos of each other. When they came out the end, they found themselves facing retro games. Kurt and Sebastian sat down and played Pong. Nick and Jeff played Pacman. After about 5 minutes, they traded.

"Pong is so boring, but so addictive," Nick laughed. "I could sit there and play for an hour and be both totally mesmerized and completely bored."

"Let's go in the tree house and then ride the carousel," Kurt said. He bounced with excitement and climbed up even though it hurt. "Let's take a group selfie in here. Sebastian and Jeff, sit against the wall really close to each other. Nick and I will sit between your legs." They got themselves situated and Kurt took a couple of shots of them. He moved and climbed out first. He waited for Sebastian and they got in line for the carousel. They took pictures of each other.

"This was my first carousel ride. I loved it," Kurt told Sebastian when they got off.

"Me too." Sebastian took his hand.

They walked toward the center ramp to go down to the next level. Kurt stopped and everyone else stopped too. He looked into windows along the wall.

"I was never into dolls or dollhouses, but look at these. They're amazing. Look at all of the details."

They four of them looked through all of the exhibit windows.

"They really are amazingly detailed," Nick agreed. "That would take a ton of skill and craftsmanship to make the pieces to scale and everything."

They stopped to admire the Chihuly sculpture that spanned four stories before they walked down the ramp to the next level and started looking around.

At 12:50, Kurt's phone beeped. "Come on."

Everyone followed him. He led them down to the first level lobby area. They got there at 12:55.

"I want to watch the waterclock empty at 1:00," Kurt said excitedly. He held onto Sebastian's hand like he had done the whole day so far.

All Sebastian could think about was how incredibly brave his completely bruised-up boyfriend was and how proud Kurt was to be his boyfriend by continually holding his hand in public. He wasn't going to back down because some jackasses beat the crap out of him the evening before. He loved Sebastian and obviously intended to let everyone else see that.

The four of them watched the clock empty.

"That was totally cool," Jeff said. "Let's go back to where we were."

They headed back upstairs. They eventually made their way down to the temporary exhibit area. Kurt lit up like a Christmas tree as they stepped into the larger open area.

Kurt pointed to the full-sized car across the room. "That was my absolute favorite Matchbox car. You have to take my picture in front of it to show my dad." Kurt posed and let Sebastian take his picture. "I still have it at home in a box in my closet," he said as he reached to rejoin their hands. "My dad would like this part of the museum. Seeing the life-size Matchbox cars is cool. Let me take a picture of you in front of whichever one you like best."

Kurt was so excited, there was no way Sebastian could turn him down. He looked around the room and picked one and went over to it. Kurt moved around until he got Sebastian and the whole car in the picture. He showed Sebastian when he walked up. He leaned closer. "Thank you for indulging me in my silliness."

He took Kurt's hand. "It's not silly to be happy. You deserve to be happy."

They caught up with Jeff and Nick, who were racing Matchbox cars down a ramp.

"YES! 4 to 1!"

Nick said, "Your ramp is faster."

Sebastian and Kurt laughed at them. They walked through the rest of the exhibit. Once they walked back out to head to another part of the museum, Kurt asked, "Is it okay if we stop and get some lunch and then look around more?" He could tell the painkillers were wearing off and he didn't want to take more on an empty stomach.

Everyone headed down the staircase behind the water clock to the food court and ate. Sebastian saw Kurt popping more pills in his mouth and swallowing them before he dumped his cup in the trash.

They toured the rest of the museum near the central ramps and watched a presentation in the planetarium, which gave Kurt some time to sit and rest. Sebastian kissed his hand and wrist during most of the presentation, making it harder than normal to pay attention, but he enjoyed it too much to pull his hand away.

The last area they visited was the Dinosphere.

"This is the coolest place ever. This was a fantastic idea, Kurt. Thanks for inviting us to come. I love it here!" Jeff said as he started walking faster down the ramp.

Nick took his picture in front of several dinosaurs.

After they looked at all of the dinosaurs, Sebastian and Kurt sat down at a table and worked on their version of what a velociraptor looked like when it was living. Sebastian mostly just colored his in with camouflage browns and greens. Kurt turned his into what looked like a deep gem-toned, rainbow-feathered dragon. He smiled and showed his to Sebastian, who winked at him.

"Of course. It's a dragon-like bird. The short front legs aren't legs, they're part of its wings and the feathers extend off the ends." He smiled and said, "Yours is perfect." Sebastian took a photo of it.

They went through the gift shop on their way out. Kurt grabbed a post card. Jeff got in line with a toy dinosaur.

"I looked everywhere for one of these when I was little. It's going in my collection at home."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Two and a half hours later, Sebastian pulled up in the driveway and parked. Jeff and Nick grabbed their bag.

"Thanks for inviting us. We had a great time!" Jeff said as they got into Nick's car and headed off to Dalton. Kurt and Sebastian waved as they drove off.

Sebastian stopped Kurt on the way inside. "You need to let Carole look at you. You may need to have your left wrist x-rayed. It's swollen and more bruised than your right. I kept your secret quiet all day, but you need medical care."

Kurt nodded.


	15. Chapter 15

Sam drove the two of them to school Monday morning for Glee rehearsal. Kurt was sporting the black cast that had been put on his left wrist the previous evening.

Kurt had shown Carole his injuries like he had agreed to. She let him change into sweats and a short-sleeve button up shirt before they left for the hospital. Carole asked for all of his injuries to be documented, which meant that Kurt had to be rephotographed, even in places he didn't want to be photographed. At least he managed to keep them from photographing one area and convinced them that a written description of the bruising should suffice.

As soon as Glee ended, Sebastian and Carole showed up, collected Kurt and marched down to Coach Sue's office. Carole knocked briskly.

"Come in."

She opened the door roughly, practically stomped across the room, dropped the multi-page ER report onto Sue's desk, and nearly slammed herself into one of the two chairs. Sebastian sat in the other because Kurt refused to sit. Kurt stood behind him with his hands on Sebastian's shoulders.

"This is not keeping him safe."

Sue looked dumbfounded and opened the file folder and read through the doctor's report. "What on earth happened to you Porcelain, I mean Kurt? You performed both times. Did this happen afterwards?"

"No. It happened in between our performances."

"You performed with two bruised ribs, a fractured wrist, multiple contusions, and all those near lacerations on your back? How many pain pills did you take?"

"Enough."

"Well, I won't admit that this is my fault because I did not injure him myself. But if you want to file charges, the school will file them for failure to provide adequate safety measures in the restrooms or whatever I can come up with to get the stadium to release the surveillance video to see if the culprits can be identified from it."

"Fine. We don't know whether he will recover in time to participate in Nationals or not, but if he does, Sebastian becomes part of the team as well. I don't care that he's not a student here. You will find some way to make him the assistant something-or-other that gets him access to all the areas the squads can be in. I don't care what it is."

"You got it. I'll give him some type of official-looking something to wear and he can be our equipment manager so he can stay with Kurt. I have no idea if we're allowed an equipment manager, but most people don't tend to want to argue with me, present company excluded of course."

"Kurt was not released to be in school today, but he came for Glee this morning. He'll be back this afternoon to sing. I expect to find his homework in Miss Pillsbury's office at the end of the school day and for him to be excused from any pop quizzes given today." She laid a file folder on Sue's desk. "Here are all of his assignments that are due today. Be sure they get to the right teachers. And that report better stay confidential. I don't want his personal information spread around the school. You can use it for your investigation or whatever, but if you want to remain employed, it better never be seen by another student or teacher." Carole stood. Sebastian and Kurt followed her out of the office and out to her car.

Kurt and Sebastian had never seen a mama bear in action, but Carole was definitely the human version. The three of them got in the car.

"You're every bit the mama bear to match my dad."

Carole laughed. She had obviously heard that the kids called Burt 'papa bear'.

When they got home, Kurt took a prescription pain pill and he and Sebastian got undressed and went back to bed. They turned the TV on and watched a movie, mostly just to distract themselves, but they lay close and held hands. Kurt eventually snuggled up on Sebastian like a body pillow and fell asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At 10:20, Sebastian gently kissed Kurt on the forehead. _"Mon étoile, I have to get up and go to school now. Carole only called me out for a half day, so I could still attend Warbler practice."_

Kurt blinked a few times. _"Oh, sorry. I didn't me to fall asleep on you. We were watching the movie."_

"_It's okay. You needed the sleep." _He kissed him again, this time on the lips._ "I'll call you and check up on you. I wish I could stay. I love you,"_ he said as he headed into the closet. He changed quickly, leaned over the bed, and kissed Kurt once more.

"_I love you too. I'll see you Friday."_

Sebastian quickly headed downstairs and out the door and drove directly to Dalton so he could make it to his last three classes. He fought tears all the way back to Westerville.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole drove Kurt back to the school for Glee rehearsal at the end of the school day. She picked up his books and homework, stuck them in the canvas bag she had brought in with her, and then went and sat at the back of the auditorium to watch. When rehearsal was over, Kurt followed her back out to her car and they went home. Sam took the Navigator and went to work.

"I'm going to lose a lot of money over this stupid fractured wrist and bruised ribs. Hopefully, I can go back to work next Monday."

"You'll have to stop taking the pain pills on Wednesday to go to school."

"I'll just stop taking them during the day. I'll just go back to the over the counter stuff. I have to be able to stay awake to do this homework. Plus, not going to school just makes me fall farther behind."

"If that's what you want, that's fine. Maybe taking them at night when you go to sleep will let you get a good night's rest."

"Maybe. But at least this way, you can go to work and don't have to play chauffeur for me, losing out on pay yourself. I really appreciate you taking care of me, but I don't want you to have to when I can just take something else and be able to drive myself."

"I'm not going to argue with you. You can make whatever choice you want. But if you decide you need help with something, just let me know."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"At least I don't have to do any flips for Regionals," Kurt said while he and Sam were on their way to school the next morning.

"How did you get hurt?" Sam asked. "You didn't say yesterday."

"I don't want people to know."

"Not even me?"

"I was assaulted in the men's restroom at the stadium Saturday by three jocks who didn't appreciate me being a male flyer and showing up their girlfriends in the competition."

"Flyer?"

"You know, I get tossed up and do flips and the bases catch me."

"Right. I've seen that."

"I was the only male flyer in the whole competition. With four male bases and my strength, I can do more flips and fly higher than the girls. That's why I'm in the center as the showcase part of that portion of the routine. So, they beat the crap out of me to try to keep me from being able to perform in the Final Five Showcase for the final placement in the competition."

"So, you dropped out? How did he Cheerios win then?"

"I performed anyway. I took a bunch of Tylenol and Advil."

"I see. So, the official story is that you got hurt at the competition, which is true, yet incomplete."

"You got it. At least it's my left wrist, so I can still write."

Sam pulled in and parked. He hung back and walked into the building with Kurt, making sure that no one grabbed him. It had been a long time since he had been dumpster tossed, and Sam intended to keep it that way.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The prescription painkillers knocked him out. The upside was that if he was having nightmares, he wasn't remembering them, but he also woke up groggy every day and it made him feel like all of the days were blurring into one long foggy memory. He and Sam drove to school together every morning, rehearsed, went to class, rehearsed afterschool, went to the shop afterwards, and did some schoolwork together, focusing on what Sam needed help with the most before Kurt crashed in the early evening.

Kurt couldn't really do anything to help around the shop, but he could answer questions if need be. He sat in the lounge and worked on his homework, which allowed him to go to bed earlier each evening. The pain pills lasted for 12 hours, which meant he had to take them as soon as he finished eating dinner. And within a half hour to an hour, he was too sleepy to concentrate on anything that he needed to read.

When Sebastian arrived on Friday afternoon, Kurt wished that they could just leave and go home for the evening, but Sebastian still needed to work. So, Kurt stayed in the lounge and finished up his schoolwork for the week. Once it was time to close up, Sebastian hadn't quite finished, so Kurt locked all of the doors and turned off most of the lights and read ahead a little in one of his classes.

Sebastian finally finished and they locked the building up and headed home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Are you feeling any better?" Sebastian asked when they were back in their room.

"Not really. I'm just running on adrenaline and painkillers. Nothing new really."

"Have you heard anything from Coach Sue about them figuring out who did this to you?"

"No. I don't know if she hasn't found anything out or whether she's just keeping what she knows to herself. I wouldn't win in an assault case anyway. Even if they get video feed of them coming into the restroom when I was in there, they'll just say they didn't see anyone in there when they were in there. I was in a stall. They'll say they went in, used the facilities, came back out, and didn't see anyone. With three of them testifying to the same exact story, and only me to say something different, there's no hope of a conviction of any sort. Especially because I didn't tell anyone right away. It's the same song, different verse. It's happened so many times before. Plus, if it went to trial or whatever, they'd find out my name for sure and there's no way to know that they wouldn't retaliate after they won, just to put me in my place. They'd just make sure that there were no cameras around the next time."

Sebastian went into their closet to get undressed and toss his clothes into the laundry basket.

"Bas, I'm okay. At least, I will be once everything heals up. This isn't the first time bullies have broken my arm or wrist and it's not the first time I've had bruised ribs or been covered in bruises like this."

He came back out of the closet, opened the dresser and grabbed some pajama pants and a t-shirt. He walked across the room towards the bathroom. "I'll go shower and leave you a lot of hot water." He shut the door behind him. He came back out less than 10 minutes later to find Kurt still sitting in the same position he had been, but he was crying.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian sat down beside him. "Do you need me to get you one of the pills?"

"No. I already took one an hour ago, when we got home." He wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I'll go shower now."

"Please stop. Tell me what's wrong. Something upset you and we said we'd be honest with each other."

"It's just I looked forward to you coming home and getting to wash your hair and take care of you. I know, it's probably dumb, but it always makes me feel really special that you trust me to do it, that you let me do it. And we haven't showered apart in ages and you didn't want to shower with me. It just made me sad that you didn't want to be with me and you took pajama pants and a shirt, like you don't want me to even touch you."

"Kurt, I'm sorry. It's not dumb at all. I thought you'd want the room in the shower to move around more easily. I didn't think you'd want me to touch you with all of your bruises."

"You touching me makes me feel like the world doesn't totally suck. It makes getting through the school days of no one besides maybe Sam talking to me the entire day more bearable knowing that we'll talk on the phone in the evening. And I look forward to Fridays when you come home."

"Come on. Come with me. Stand up." He didn't get a response. Sebastian knelt in front of him. "Fine then," he said teasingly. "I'll get started undressing you." He kissed him and unbuttoned Kurt's cardigan and shirt. He slid them over Kurt's shoulders and off. "There's those gorgeous arms," he teased. He kissed down Kurt's right arm all the way to his hand, and then slid his hand out. He kissed Kurt on the lips again. He kissed down his left arm and gently pulled the sleeve off over his cast. "I know the painkiller has kicked in and you're super tired, but try to get up so I can get your pants off and help you to the shower. I shouldn't have gone first or without you. I'm really sorry. Let me make it up to you."

Kurt stood and let Sebastian undress him the rest of the way. Sebastian got undressed in the bathroom and got back in the shower with him. Kurt washed himself and Sebastian washed his hair. He helped Kurt back out. Kurt dried himself and left the room. He lay down in the bed and pulled the covers up.

Sebastian only put the pants on and came out. He sat down next to Kurt and carefully put moisturizer on Kurt's face. And just to make him smile, he did his own face as well. "I can't let myself age if you're going to keep your skin all perfect can I? In 10 years, people will think I'm a cradle robber."

That made Kurt smile. "You goof!" he said quietly, but his heart swelled with joy because Sebastian was talking about still being with him in the future.

Sebastian put the moisturizer back and walked around to his side of the bed. He put his pajama pants on the dresser and pulled out a pair for Kurt and put them there as well. He turned off the light and climbed into bed with Kurt. It didn't take long for Kurt to scoot over and turn Sebastian into his personal body pillow and fall asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt waking up at 6:00 didn't seem so early this time since they had gone to bed at 9:00, but Sebastian's stomach was growling and Kurt teased him.

"_I think you swallowed a tiny growly monster and it wants out."_

"_You think so? If I let it out, it might eat you." _Sebastian kissed him._ "I can't let that happen, so it will just have to stay put. I'll feed it and it will be quiet again for a while."_

Kurt laughed. _"I'm sorry about last night. Those pills wipe me out and make me feel weird. I do sleep without nightmares waking me up though, so it's a trade off I guess."_

"_Well, mon étoile, do you want to go downstairs and eat with me in the kitchen or shall I go prepare us something to eat and bring it back up?"_

"_Hmm… such a tough choice. Getting dressed, traipsing down the stairs, sitting on hard wood stool OR waiting for you to come back, and eating naked in bed with you."_

"_Well, when you put it that way, I'll be back in 10 minutes."_ Sebastian grabbed his pajama pants off the dresser and the t-shirt he had left in the bathroom and scurried downstairs. He came back up with the tray with a single plate with a large veggie and cheese omelette and two glasses of orange juice.

"_It looks great. Thank you."_ He examined the tray. _"Hmm. There only seems to be one fork."_ He picked it up.

Sebastian playfully snatched it from him. _"That's because I'm going to feed you, my prince."_

"_Oh really?" _Kurt laughed.

Sebastian cut off a piece. _"Really." _

"_You're such a goof." _He opened his mouth and let Sebastian feed him.

He went back and forth between the two of them until the omelette was gone. _"When do you want to take the over the counter painkillers?"_

"_I guess right now. That way I can eat something small and take another dose when we leave before 11:00 to head over to the school."_

"_Alright then. Where are they?"_

"_Oh, I have some right here."_ Kurt pulled a small bottle off his side shelf and popped some in his mouth and took his glass of orange juice and swallowed them. He put the empty glass back on the tray.

Sebastian moved the tray and put it on the dresser. _"So, what are your plans for this lovely winter morning?"_

"_It's dark outside."_

"_Your point?" _Sebastian teased.

Kurt looked down at his hand. _"I wish I had some way to take the cast off just for the performance. I hate that it shows. Of all times for us to be wearing short sleeves. Ugh."_

"_It's for a medical issue. Don't worry about it. Any judge that would mark down for a cast is a jerk."_

"_I know. And doing something to make it less noticeable would just make it more noticeable. I suppose it matches as good as it's going to. Our outfits are black."_

"_We could watch the rest of the movie you missed Monday morning."_

"_Alright. Only you are way overdressed."_

"_You're right. I offered naked breakfast in bed and then forgot to get undressed. How terribly rude of me."_ He swayed his hips over to the dresser and left his pajamas behind and got in the bed. _"Better?"_

"_Much." _ Kurt turned on his right side. _"Wrap your arm around the back of my thigh like you did at the hotel. There's no bruises on the back in that area."_ Kurt pulled Sebastian closer and started kissing him with several days' worth of built up longing. He backed off when his body began reacting to the passionate kissing.

"_What's wrong?"_

"_My body is too interested. We'll have to tone it down a bit. Sorry."_

"_No need to be sorry. I didn't know that part of you was injured so badly."_

"_I hope it heals soon. I've been wearing dress slacks all week and avoiding my skinny jeans, but it's still really painful. I'm doing what I did for the Cheerios competition this afternoon."_

"_What?"_

"_Taking acetaminophen and ibuprofen both. I know it's not a great idea, but I have to be able to move around without grimacing. I finally have a competition solo and I'm not going to blow it by looking like I'm miserable on stage. And I'm wearing the dance belt to help keep everything in place, hoping that it helps keep the pain down."_

"_I'm looking forward to hearing you sing."_

"_The song is for you."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes. I chose it for you." _Kurt kissed him gently.

"_Well, both of the songs I suggested got chosen. One you'll recognize for sure. It's personal between us. And the other one is for you."_ Sebastian kissed him. _"We're going to go out and celebrate for dinner tonight. No matter which group wins. How about that Greek place? It was good."_

"_Sure. A late dinner since we're having food after Finn and Rachel's wedding. And a snack of some sort before we leave so I can take the pills. Let's watch the end of the movie and then we'll pack up the clothes we need and leave so we get to the school at 11:00."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt arrived at the school wearing the clothes he was going to wear to the wedding and Sebastian was wearing his Dalton uniform. They had put his wedding outfit and both of their extra outfits in a garment bag. They had decided that they would switch their clothes before leaving Berry's house to go out for the afternoon and evening.

Kurt took the garment bag with him after he showed Sebastian to the dance studio, which is where the Warblers had been assigned to rehearse before the competition. Kurt waved at several of the Warblers before he walked off.

"Why are you fraternizing with the competition?" Rachel asked as he came back toward the choir room.

"Rachel, let it go."

"If you wanted to be with them so badly, you should have just stayed."

"If I could have afforded it, I might have. Now knock it off and let's get in there to rehearse and win this."

Kurt hung the garment bag up and grabbed his costume and changed in the closet. He didn't want anyone to see how banged up he was. He came out, hung his suit on the costume rack, and got into place. They ran through the vocals on their pieces twice. The last time through, they added the choreography.

"That was really good, guys. There's been one change. We've had an addition to the competition today. Something about a power failure at one of the other Regionals venues and they divided those participating groups into the closest locations. So, we have the Warblers, the Golden Goblets, which is a madrigal choir, and the Top Notes from a school in Toledo. They sent one of the judges here as well."

"Let's go out there and show them what we've got," Mr. Schue said.

They all put their hands in the circle and said "amazing" together. They went to the auditorium and sat together. The Warblers drew first position.

The lights came up and they started with "Keep Your Head Up". Kurt saw a lot of the choreography that Sebastian had used when he sang against Blaine to keep the lead Warbler position. He did a great job portraying the lightness and upbeat nature of the song.

Next up they sang "Stand". Kurt smiled. He knew this was the song that Sebastian said was personal. He had listened to it over and over on the way back from Dalton the day he didn't know whether he'd be going back.

Their last song was "Glad You Came". Kurt started crying happy tears. He wiped his eyes and stood cheering when the song came to an end.

He excused himself and hurried to the wings and pulled Sebastian off to the side in the dark. He kissed him quickly and let him loose. "I loved the song." He took off back to this seat in the auditorium.

The madrigal choir was up next. Their songs were beautiful, but the lyrics didn't seem to fit the required theme, so he didn't think they had much of a chance.

The New Directions left the auditorium when the Golden Goblets exited the stage. The Warblers had taken the New Directions' seats in the auditorium.

There was a 10-minute break to reset some lights. The New Directions stretched and warmed up in the choir room for a few minutes before heading back to the stage area.

The New Directions watched The Top Notes perform from the wings. Their lead singer was a girl with long black wavy hair. She had a gorgeous warm sultry voice. She could belt better than Rachel, had Santana's sex appeal, and had smoother runs than Mercedes, but overall the group's choreography was weak.

The New Directions girls took the stage and wowed the crowd with their take on "Stronger". Mercedes, Brittany, and Santana did a fantastic job. They exited to the opposite stage wing.

Kurt entered alone and stood center stage, with no lights except a pale spotlight on him.

_Don't give up_

_It's just the weight of the world_

_When your heart's heavy_

_I, I will lift it for you_

_Don't give up_

_Because you want to be heard_

_If silence keeps you_

_I, I will break it for you_

_Everybody wants to be understood_

The rest of the guys, except Mike, walked on stage in a line, half from each side, and filled in the space on both sides of the stage. They stood with about 3 feet between each of them, illuminated by pale spotlights as well, and began to sing in 6-part harmony. Mike and Brittany followed them in dancing, met in the middle, and began to dance in a waltz-like fashion around them, sort of slalom style. Two pale spotlights illuminated them until they joined together, and then they were lit by a singular pale spotlight.

Kurt's voice could be heard above the rest, resonating in his lower range, rising through the higher parts of the song without cracking or breaking – soaring out into the audience.

Sebastian eyes filled with tears and several managed to escape. He wiped them. Jeff was sitting next to him and gently put his hand on Sebastian's leg briefly.

_Don't give up_

_Everyone needs to be heard_

_You are loved_

The song ended. The audience was stunned into silence. Before they came to themselves to start to clap, the girls entered and took their places alongside the guys and the intro to "I Can Fly" started. The lead on the song was divided between the seniors plus Tina and Artie. When they finished, the crowd was on their feet cheering and clapping.

Jeff leaned over and spoke quietly. "That song Kurt sang was for you, wasn't it?"

Sebastian nodded.

"He's happier than I've ever seen him. You're good for each other. Don't let anyone else tell you any different."

Nick leaned forward so Sebastian could hear him, "Wow, none of us knew he could sing like that. He's amazing."

Sebastian nodded.

The New Directions exited the stage area and filed out into the audience and stood along the wall near where the Warblers were sitting. The Warblers stood and graciously offered their seats to the girls in the New Directions and Troubletones, who all sat down. Sebastian took it as his opportunity to stand next to Kurt along the wall. He stood directly behind him and reached forward and put his hand on Kurt's waist. Kurt put his hand over the top of Sebastian's and squeezed his hand. He stepped back so they were standing closer.

Ten minutes later, all four groups were called up to the stage.

The announcer began. "In third place, we have the Golden Goblets." The announcer handed them their trophy.

"In second place, we have the Top Notes." Their leader accepted their trophy.

Both the New Directions and the Warblers looked confused because they were all certain that both of their groups were better than the second and third place winners.

"And in a most unusual situation, the judges have declared that both the New Directions and the Warblers will move on to Nationals in Chicago." The announcer ended up sitting it in front of the Warblers and moved to face the New Directions and stated that a trophy would be sent to the school.

"Congratulations to our two winners!"

Sebastian followed Kurt back to the choir room, but waited outside. Kurt retrieved the garment bag and they went in an empty classroom, left the light off, and changed where no one could see them from the window in the door. Once they were redressed, they went back to the choir room and Kurt put his costume on the rack where it belonged.

Sebastian stood at the door, holding their garment bag. They left and headed out to the Navigator. Kurt opened the back and Sebastian grabbed their coats while Kurt put the garment bag in place. They slipped their coats on and got in. They headed to the wedding venue.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They parked in a nearby municipal lot.

Sebastian took Kurt's hand after he had turned the engine off. "Thank you for the song. It was absolutely beautiful. I recorded it."

"I meant it."

"I know." Sebastian looked around outside the SUV and didn't see anyone at all. He leaned over he console and Kurt leaned towards him and they kissed. "I love you."

"Let's get inside and be where we're supposed to be," Kurt said. He leaned in to kiss Sebastian one last time.

They went inside and found that LeRoy's parents were there along with LeRoy. Kurt and Sebastian hung their coats on the racks provided near the entrance. Mrs. Berry put white boutonnieres on Sebastian and Kurt.

They sat on a bench out of the way while they waited for everyone else to arrive. There hadn't been a rehearsal, but Rachel had emailed out a very thorough description of the plan. As the rest of the wedding party arrived, they went in a side room to stay out of the way of the arriving guests.

Once the guests had arrived and had been seated, Mr. and Mrs. Berry filed in together and sat on the left end of the front row of seats on the left. Kurt and Sebastian filed in next and took the opposite seats, far right on the right. As they walked up the aisle, Kurt saw Mr. Schuester, Miss Pillsbury, and some of Carole's relatives. He figured that the other adults were the Berry's or Carole's relatives or friends.

Hiram and LeRoy filed in next and sat in the remaining two seats on the left. Burt and Carole filed in and sat to the right. The family members were all dressed in black suits with white shirts. Mrs. Berry's and Carole's suits had long skirts instead of pants.

A couple of minutes later, the music started and the Glee members walked down the aisle in pairs – girls on the left and guys to the right. When they got to the front, they split and form a single arched row at the front of the room.

Artie and Mercedes filed in first in pink, followed by Santana and Rory in peach, Joe and Sugar in pale yellow, Quinn and Mike in light green, Tina and Puck in pale blue, and Brittany and Sam in lavender walked up the aisle, splitting apart at the front and creating the arch.

Kurt noted that Rachel had managed to make pairs that had never dated, which was challenging since there had been so many couples in the group over the years.

The girls' dresses created a pastel rainbow. The guys' shirts created a mirror pastel rainbow. It was a really beautiful effect.

The music changed. The 8 family members stood and turned to look toward the back. The rest of the guests did the same. Rachel and Finn had opted to walk in together. They walked up the aisle and when they got to the front, the officiant entered from a side door near the front, and the two lines of Glee members filed into the second and third rows of seats and sat down.

Only Finn, Rachel, and the officiant remained at the front.

The officiant gave a speech about love and marriage. Finn and Rachel recited their vows and exchanged rings. Rachel sang to Finn. They hugged and kissed and the recessional was the exact opposite of the processional.

There were lots of photos. Kurt and Sebastian spent most of their time talking to LeRoy's parents, who were quite entertaining to talk to. Kurt showed Mrs. Berry to use Sebastian's camera and had her take a picture of the two of them in their suits.

Once the photos were done, everyone in the wedding party headed to the Berry's house to meet up with the other guests for the reception.

Kurt and Sebastian weren't really included in the conversations or the festivities. Kurt quietly approached Burt and asked him how long he and Sebastian were required to stay. Burt told him that they could leave whenever they wanted and if anyone noticed they were missing, he would tell them that Kurt wasn't feeling well and that they had gone home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"We can still go out. Let's just swing by the house and change there," Kurt said as he pulled Sebastian out the door. "The less time we spend here the better."

"Alright. I know those painkillers you took earlier have to be wearing off about now. Do you want me to drive?"

"Sure."

Sebastian drove them back home. He grabbed the garment bag out of the back and carried it in. They hung their coats up out of habit and headed upstairs.

"If I take these now, I can still take the prescription ones later if I want to," Kurt said as he popped some painkillers into his mouth and headed into the bathroom to get some water.

He came back out to find Sebastian still wearing the suit he had on sitting on Kurt's side of the bed. Kurt gave him a puzzled look.

"I was waiting to make sure you wanted to change."

"Oh. How about a dance or two before we do?" Kurt turned some nice slow jazz music on. He reached for Sebastian.

Sebastian stood and stepped close to Kurt. He put his hand on Kurt's upper arm where there was no brusing and held his other hand. Kurt leaned in and wrapped his other hand around Sebastian's waist and they moved in time with the music.

"Where did you learn to dance?"

"Basic couples dancing was taught in school. I think maybe around age 12 or 13. But once I got older, I went to a few clubs. They host afternoons dance lessons for the price of the cover charge and there's always a need for guys, so sometimes I could get them to let me in for free. I'd go in the summer when I was home."

"That's cool. We definitely don't have anything like that around here."

"Where did you learn?"

"Videos. I told you that I had a large room in our basement in our old house. There was lots of room to dance down there. I played videos on my laptop and learned routines from YouTube and horsed around a lot."

"Well, you're fun to dance with."

Kurt smiled and leaned in again and kissed Sebastian. "The feeling is mutual."

When the song ended, Sebastian asked, "Do you still want to go out? I don't think anyone else is going to be home any time soon. We could order in and eat here, if you'd rather stay home and relax."

"I just want to be with you." Kurt leaned in and put his head on Sebastian's shoulder as they continued to dance.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"This was just as good as the dish we ordered the last time. I like it here," Kurt said.

"Me too. And I liked this dish too." They had nearly finished eating and were mostly just talking.

"After the wedding today, I almost wish we had lost," Kurt admitted. "It hurt a lot more than I thought it would. I mean, I read through Rachel's plan so I would know what to do, but to get there and be marginalized the whole time was just too much. I mean Joe just joined the group this semester, about a month ago. Rory is an exchange student who's only been here this school year. And Rachel is the one that threw such a fit that Sugar NOT be allowed into the group that Sugar got her dad to pay for a second Glee club to be started at the school. Yet, all of them were included and I wasn't. I guess the upside is that Blaine didn't interact with us. Maybe I'm just reading into the whole thing too much. Maybe my dad said that you and I were family and should be included as such. But then there were like a thousand pictures taken and we were in like four. I don't even know why I even bother."

"I don't know what went on with the planning, but you were vocally opposed to them getting married before school got out. I figured that Rachel marginalized us due to the fact that we didn't support their choice."

"Probably that too. It just seemed to me like Finn could have just moved in with the Berrys until the end of the school year. They could have seen whether they can even tolerate sharing the same bedroom. Finn is such a slob and she's a total neat freak. Her room is yellow with white furniture. She has a fuchsia lampshade on one of her lamps. Her desk is pink. Her bed is a full-size canopy bed. She has pink heart throw pillows on her bed that has a boho chic throw on it as the bedspread. I confess that I once told her that her bedroom looked like a place where Holly Hobby and Strawberry Shortcake would meet to hook up."

Sebastian laughed.

"I'm not even sure that the two of them can fit in that bed. I'm sure that Finn is taller than that bed is long. Her nighttime ritual takes over an hour to complete. She takes a bath every morning and a really long shower every night. She exercises for 30 minutes every morning before she even takes the bath. She wakes up earlier than I do. He knows none of this as far as I know. I've spent the night at her house enough times to know that she doesn't share her bathroom with anyone. All of the guests, even the girls, have to go use a different bathroom in the house. Why do I know these things? Because she does them regardless of who's there. She's not going to give them up because he's moved in with her. I just want him to be happy. I just don't see it happening, but I hope I am 100% wrong."

"Me too."

"Now that I mentioned all of that stuff, I want to make sure there's nothing I'm doing that's driving you crazy. Is there? I get stuck in ruts and do things systematically, but I'm not opposed to doing things differently. I mean we worked together to make the room more ours, but is there anything that bothers you about it?"

"No. Our room is the nicest place I've ever lived. I have more room to put stuff than I've ever had and I own more stuff than I ever have. Your nighttime routine takes like ten minutes. I'm not sure what you do on school days, but your morning routine I've seen takes like 15 minutes and you're ready to leave at the end." He leaned in close and whispered, "And I quite enjoy the long showers with you." He resumed his normal voice. "You went out of your way to make room for me in your life. We both have a good head on our shoulders financially. We both know how to cook and we enjoy each other's food. We have mutual interests and individual interests. It's also probably inevitable that one day we'll fight over something completely stupid like leaving dirty dishes in the sink. But I think we're both mature enough to step back once we've started arguing and realize that the whole argument is stupid and whoever left them will wash them and apologize and we'll hug and kiss and make up and that will be that."

Kurt smiled and leaned in, "Speaking of hugging and kissing, why don't we pay and go home and do just that?"

"Great idea."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They pulled up into the driveway to find that no one was home still.

"That's odd. I figured Sam and my parents would be back by now."

They went inside and hung their coats up. Kurt took his phone out and texted Carole and Sam.

Within a few seconds he got a response from Sam. "Well, some of the Glee guys, minus Finn, headed to Artie's and the girls went to Brittany's. So, Sam won't be back until some time tomorrow."

They headed upstairs and started undressing to shower early since Sebastian had learned the hard way what happened when Kurt had to wait after he had taken the prescription pain pill. Kurt checked his phone again when they came out of the bathroom.

"Carole says that she and Dad went to dinner in Columbus and that she's spending the night with an old friend after she drops Dad off at the airport and that she's heading straight to work when she drives back to Lima tomorrow morning."

"Well, then, I'll go down and make sure the alarms are set and the lights are off downstairs." Sebastian grabbed a pair of pajamas pants, slipped them on and went downstairs. He came back up about five minutes later carrying two glasses of tea.

"Thank you." Kurt took his glass from Sebastian and took a big drink. "I want to sleep, but I really don't want to take that pill."

"It's up to you. I'll do whatever you think will make you feel better."

"Oh, really?" Kurt waggled his eyebrows and winked at him.

"Hey, if whatever it is that you are thinking of will actually make you feel better, I'll do it. Somehow, I think it would just make a certain part of you hurt a lot more than it does right now."

"I know." Kurt went ahead and took the prescription painkiller with what was left of the tea Sebastian had brought him. He put the glass in the bathroom and got in bed. "How about you pick a movie you want to watch and I'll just get as comfortable as I can, knowing that I won't last long. I just want to touch you and be close to you."

"Nah." He turned off the lights and climbed in bed. "I'd rather just lie with you where you can be comfortable. Seeing you like this is hard. I know this is just something you're used to, which makes it so much worse. The lack of outrage on your part makes me all the angrier."

Kurt scooted closer and got Sebastian to lie on his side facing him. He pulled him in for a gentle kiss. "I appreciate that. I really do. I won't go into any restrooms alone where there are lots of homophobic jocks. I honestly have no idea what made me let my guard down that night – probably because no one had been calling me names from the stands, at least not that I could hear. I mean it's not like I would have ever considered going to the guys' restroom alone at one of the local high schools when I cheered at away games. I'll be more careful. I'm sorry."

"_Mon étoile_, don't apologize." Sebastian ran his thumb down Kurt's cheek and felt a few tears escaping. "I'm not angry with you. You have nothing to apologize for. I'm angry that people hurt you. I love you so much. I don't want you to hurt at all." He kissed Kurt's cheek.

"Oh." Kurt paused for a minute to think about what Sebastian had said. "I'm used to being told it's at least partially my own fault. If I didn't like girly things… If I didn't dress so girly… If I behaved more like a guy… That I'm asking for it by the tight-fitting clothes I wear… If I'd just pay attention to my surroundings… Make sure someone is with me… Never go anywhere alone..."

"Those are pretty misogynistic things people are saying to you. That sounds like victim blaming. A girl in a short skirt gets raped – it's her fault for 'asking for it.' I don't know who has been saying those types of things to you, but it's not true." Sebastian kissed him gently again. "If guys are attracted to you in the clothes you wear, that is their own issue, not yours. If you think I'm going to tell you to dress differently because people are ignorant jackasses who can't reconcile the feelings they have when they see you with their own internalized homophobia, I'm not. I think you should dress however you like. If you want to wear skirts and whatever, I won't stop you. I mean, I'd appreciate it if you wear clothes." He laughed. "I'm not ready for you to walk around letting everyone see you the way I get to."

"No worries on that front. I had never even considered that I might ever be comfortable letting anyone see me without my clothes on." Kurt kissed him. "I've spent a good portion of my life keeping as much of myself covered as I possibly could. I'm not anywhere near ready to join a nudist colony."

Sebastian laughed. "Good. Just us. No one else." He stroked his thumb down Kurt's check again. "But I'm serious. I'm not upset with you at all. You didn't do anything wrong. Using a public restroom isn't supposed to be a life-threatening issue."

"I've not told anyone else but Sam the truth. No one else will respond the way you did. I'm sorry I thought you'd be like everyone else. You're different. I know that. I shouldn't have thought that of you. You didn't react that way when I told you. I guess I figured you were just being nice that night because I was hurt. I guess I thought you'd think about it and then side with everyone else."

"I'm confused."

"If I told anyone else the truth, the very first thing I would hear is 'Why did you go to the restroom alone?'"

"Oh. Let's start this conversation over. I am angry that you feel that you have any responsibility for what happened to you. I am angry that some homophobic jackasses beat the crap out of you – the person I love. And now, I'm angry that your so-called 'friends' would be anything but equally outraged about what happened to you."

Kurt just lay there, not saying anything.

Sebastian thought for a few minutes. "That's why you were crying last night. When I came home and showered first and gave you space because I thought you would want it, you thought I was upset that you had let this happen to you and I was showing my frustration by refusing to let you touch me since I couldn't touch you."

"Yes, but not entirely. It was a mix of that and, in my half wiped-out state from the prescription painkillers, it felt like you were rejecting me. I was damaged and you didn't want me anymore."

"Well, none of that is true. I don't blame you at all. I love you and you being banged up isn't going to change that. And I'm sorry I made you feel like I was rejecting you or blaming you in any way. That wasn't my intention at all."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Loving me." Kurt voice was very faint and he was bordering on being out cold.

"Always." Sebastian kissed him on the forehead and lay still so Kurt could sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt woke up and Sebastian was lying there watching him sleep.

"Surely, I'm not that interesting to watch. Was I talking in my sleep or something?"

"Nope. You just look so relaxed and carefree. I like seeing you that way."

"Oh."

"You're cute."

"Ugh."

"What?"

"My life goals don't include being cute. Puppies are cute."

Sebastian got up on his hands and knees and straddled Kurt without touching him anywhere. He leaned down and kissed him. "I like it."

"Okay, then." He smiled. "Kiss me again."

"My pleasure." He leaned down and kissed him again before he climbed off the bed on Kurt's side and went in the bathroom and brought a glass of water out so that Kurt could take some pain pills.

"Thank you." Kurt took some and gave him the glass back.

As Sebastian came back in the room, he started talking. "Last night after you fell asleep, I was thinking."

"What about?"

"A lot of different things."

"Such as?"

Sebastian lay back down on his own side of the bed. "Well, mostly it started out about what you said about people blaming you for the bullying you've endured. Who exactly are we talking about? Your actual friends or just people you know?"

"Well, I think the easiest answer to that would be that you are the only person besides Sam who's never implied or actually said that I bring it on myself."

"Seriously?"

"Well, I guess there's Carole, but she's never really said anything about it that I can think of. I'd have to ask her I guess."

"Even your dad?"

"Even my dad. Believe it or not, Finn was the most supportive of the kilt that I made to wear to prom last spring."

"That is surprising."

"He said 'it rocked' and I looked like 'gay Braveheart'."

"Oh."

"Yeah. My dad hated it. Straight up told me to my face he didn't like it and he thought I was trying to stir up trouble by wearing it. Blaine didn't like it either. He agreed with my dad. I told him that he was free to not go with me if that's how he felt. He went. It was a disaster, as I've told you before."

"So, you think they were right."

"I guess so. I mean if I had gone wearing a regular off-the-rack suit from Macy's or Kohl's, maybe no one would have come up with the idea to write my name in for Prom Queen."

"Maybe. There's no way to know."

"This fall when I was complaining to my dad after I had eavesdropped on the casting discussion, I told him that there were no lead parts for guys like me."

"He told me I'm 'gay, really gay, not like Rock Hudson gay' and that I dress like I 'own a chocolate factory'. He followed that up by saying that there was nothing wrong with that and that if parts for guys like me don't exist that I should create them. He meant it to be inspiring. But it was still hard to hear."

"Has he seen the way Blaine dresses? If anyone dresses like he owns a chocolate factory, it's him. Or maybe a crayon factory that threw up on him."

Kurt laughed.

"You dress like the fashion magazines that I saw my stepmother read. I told you that. He dresses like he's wearing the pants he owned when he was 12 and was shorter and a little chubby. So, now he's gotten taller, gained no weight, and the pants still fit minus the fact that they're all 10cm too short. He wears huge bow ties with polo shirts. How did you not just take those off and stick them in his bag? At least he could have worn a button up shirt with the bow ties. And the lack of socks is disturbing. Not in the summer, but in the middle of winter with those short pants?"

"Well, honestly I had never really seen him wear much of anything other than his uniform or Dalton issued clothes until he started at McKinley. He left for Six Flags not long after school got out and came back right before it started again. I saw him in shorts and polos mostly. The boat shoes without socks looked fine with the shorts."

"Anyway, enough about him. I don't think you dress like you own a chocolate factory. I think you dress like you wish you modeled for Vogue."

"Well, model – I don't think so. But I like a lot of the clothes."

"Why no modeling?"

Kurt gave him a strange look. "Me? Seriously?"

"Why not?"

"That would be a really long depressing list that I won't say out loud because you'd get upset with me."

"Alright. Whatever you were going to say, if it is negative, I will have to disagree with you, even if you don't say it out loud." He scooted forward and kissed Kurt gently. "So, did you keep any of your more unusual pieces or did you toss them in the Great Fall Closet Cleanse?"

"I kept the kilt because I put so much work into it. I mostly got rid of clothes that didn't fit anymore or I was 100% certain that I would never wear again."

"I want to see the prom outfit. Will you put it on for me?"

"Um, okay." Kurt got out of bed and went in the closet. He found the garment bag the suit was hanging in and pulled the suit out and put it on, even the boots. When he came out of the closet dressed, Sebastian was wearing his pajama pants sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed waiting to see him.

"Ooh. That's hot. You made all of that? Turn. I like."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You look like you're going to the royal wedding."

"I made the kilt completely. I tailored the shirt and made some additions and changes. I tailored the tux jacket and made some additions to it. So, I didn't actually MAKE all of it."

"Well, it looks amazing."

"You wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"I guess that depends on what we're doing. I mean it's a little overkill for going to the movies or to the Greek restaurant. But for a formal event, no. You're not the first guy I've seen in a kilt. I'm French. It's the top half of your outfit that's too dressy for regular activities. You need a button down and a pullover or a cardigan for regular wear – and the right socks and oxfords. The boots are really dressy too. Very hot."

Kurt was blushing. "I'll show you another outfit." He went back into the closet. He carefully hung everything back up and put it back in the garment bag. He put leggings and a skirt on with the button up shirt and sweater he had worn it with. "Close your eyes." He came out of the closet and sat in his chair to get the knee-high lace-up Docs on. Once they were on, he walked back around to stand where Sebastian was facing. "Open your eyes."

"Ooh. I like that too. Are those what you called the 'bitch boots'?"

"Yes."

"I like them."

"Really?"

"Really. Totally hot. Why did you quit wearing the skirts? What happened?"

"Well, we wanted to do a Britney Spears song for the Homecoming Assembly. But Mr. Schue was insistent that we couldn't. He said she was a bad role model and changed the topic back to adult contemporary music. The next day, everyone was in favor of my idea and enthusiastic about it, and I brought it up again. He got really irate and shut me down. I smarted back to him and said something like 'let loose a little and stop being so frickin' uptight.' He sent me to Figgins' office. I served detention for insubordination for the rest of the week."

"That seems like a reasonable punishment. We were never allowed to backtalk our teachers."

"I understand that. But this is the same man who had witnessed Finn actually deck Puck and punch him in the face. The same man that knew the two of them, and others, tossed me in the dumpster in the school parking lot. And he never sent either one of them to see Figgins. That was actually the day that I realized beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't just my peers that saw me as a second-class citizen. It was teachers as well. If Santana or Finn had been the one to say what I had said, nothing would have happened. It was the day that I absolutely realized that I was never going to be anything but part of the chorus. I didn't matter and keeping me in my place was more important than listening to what I had to say."

"So, Mr. Schue actually saw Finn punch Puck and did nothing? And he knew they were dumpster tossing you?"

"Yes, sophomore year. And in the fall of junior year, he saw Dave shoving me into lockers. The one time he said anything, he offered me a tiny paper cup of water and told me that he thought quote 'I was letting it get to me' unquote because of the way I had been behaving, meaning less upbeat and more sullen."

"Wow."

"Then he had the nerve to try to be the good guy AFTER my dad had come to school and Dave had been expelled. He offered me a solo at sectionals right after I had found out that Dave was coming back the next day. I'm sure he knew already. I told everyone I was going to Dalton and I left the choir room. Anyway, that was like eons ago it seems – a year ago in November. So, this outfit – it was like the last time I was outspoken at school. Sort of. I don't know."

"If it bring you bad memories, you can let it go. If you still like it, you should wear it."

"Seriously? You don't hate it?"

"Well, I'll be honest. If we weren't friends, I would be inclined to say mean things because you are all sorts of hot and I wouldn't want you to keep dressing like that around me because I would have a really hard time continuing to pull off an 'I'm not interested' look."

Kurt laughed. "So, you would tease me in an effort to get me to change the way I dressed so I wouldn't be as eye-catching?"

"If I were trying to keep up my prickly French manwhore demeanor – yes. It would be entirely wrong to look like I was interested in the kind, monogamous, romantic guy. I was going for 'player', not 'virtue stealer'."

"But you went after Blaine…"

"Yeah."

"There's something you know that you aren't telling me."

"I don't think repeating rumors is something I should do. I don't know whether what I've heard is true."

"That's good, but it has something to do with Blaine."

"Yes."

"It has something to do with Aaron, doesn't it? I shut Jeff down when he started to talk about it because I was driving and couldn't get upset."

Sebastian didn't respond.

Kurt paced around the room and thought. "You were testing him at the Lima Bean. I overheard you say, 'It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you.'" He continued to pace. "You said that he asked you what it was like to have sex with someone you loved, but you told him that you didn't know. He could have taken that two ways. One that you'd never had sex OR two that you'd only had hook-ups. Either one was a disappointing answer." Kurt stopped and sat down in his chair. "He said he was prepared, but I ignored that part of what he said. He also said that he wanted to 'play Tony well so badly'. Too many things don't add up. Jeff was talking about a guy named Aaron. I'm going to talk to him."

"Wait, what?"

"I don't want him back. Not ever. But I am concerned. A bunch of things don't add up. You're implying that you heard rumors about his past before you hit on him when he brought the tickets to Dalton. I'm not going to ask you anything about that. But he clearly told me that he had never been anyone's boyfriend before, but he didn't seem the least bit fazed when I told him my first kiss that had counted had been stolen from me. He sort of laughed it off and offered to take me to lunch. There are other things he said and somehow his parents lived in McKinley's school district? So, he could just transfer? McKinley has never had a Sadie Hawkins dance. You know I never met his parents? They were never home."

"I don't know what a lot of that means, but we'll meet with him if that's what you want."

"Let's go to his house and talk to him if he's there, and if he's not, I'll call him. Maybe he'll meet me half way to Westerville. But not with me dressed like this. I'm going to go as my audition alter ego, non-gay me."

Sebastian laughed.

"Trust me, the skirt is so much less painful, I would rather wear it, but at least my non-gay alter ego has looser fitting jeans in his wardrobe."

Sebastian's smile faded. "I wish I could do something to make the bruises heal faster."

"Me too. Ugh."

"Go change. It's too early to go to anyone's house anyway."

Kurt went back in the closet and put on a button up, but was carrying the jeans and boots. He put the jeans on the back of the desk chair and the boots on the floor and sat down on the bed. "I don't want to put them on."

"I think you need one of these." Sebastian was looking at his phone.

"What?"

Sebastian turned the phone and Kurt saw a photo of a buff, shirtless man wearing a utility kilt. "This is hot."

"I have one of those," Kurt smiled.

"Do you wear it the proper way?"

"Proper?" Kurt blushed when he realized what Sebastian meant. "Only for you."

"Works for me." He laughed and leaned over and kissed Kurt. "Will you wear it shirtless too?"

"If you want."

"Mmm."

"The model in the photo is a lot more buff than I am though. You could just stare at him in the kilt."

"Meh. You on the other hand." He kissed Kurt again. "You are gorgeous."

"Thank you." Kurt kissed him. "I'm glad you think so."

"How about you just put your pajama pants on and we'll go down and eat breakfast. You can put the jeans on later."

"I liked the idea of naked breakfast in bed better."

"I suppose I do still owe you that after forgetting yesterday morning."

"But it's my turn to cook. You cooked yesterday."

"Let's cook together. We can still bring it up here and eat naked if you want."

"Well, at least you have to eat naked," he teased. "I wasn't the one who forgot." He kissed Sebastian. "I like the idea of together. Come on." Kurt kissed him one last time and moved to get out of the bed. He put the pajama pants on and opened the door.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A few hours later, Kurt pulled into the driveway of a nice two-story house.

"Since I don't really understand why we're here, I'm just going to keep quiet." Sebastian said.

"That's fine. I'm not really sure why I'm here either, but let's go."

They got out of the car and walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. About a minute later, a woman of average height, with brown, shoulder length wavy hair answered the door.

"Can I help you boys with something?"

"We're friends with Blaine. We just came by to see if he was home this weekend."

"Home?"

"Is he?"

"He's at Dalton. I'm not sure when the last time he went home was, but it's been since the beginning of the semester since he's been here. He packed up his stuff and he's not been back to visit."

"Visit? I'm really confused. I've been here a few times. You weren't home at the time. Only Blaine was. I had the impression that this was his home where he lived with his parents while attending McKinley high school. I know he went back to Dalton this semester. That's where both of us met him – at Dalton. But then he went to McKinley last semester and lived here."

"Yes. Why don't you two at least step inside where it's not so cold?"

Kurt and Sebastian stepped into the foyer.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Janice Anderson. I'm Blaine's aunt. I'm married to his father's brother, Dennis."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kurt and this is Sebastian."

"Kurt. You and Blaine were dating, but you broke up with him."

"That's true. So, he stayed with you while he went to McKinley last semester."

"Yes. He brings his stuff here for the summer every year rather than pay to store it in Westerville. He spends the summer near Chicago working at Six Flags. He went back to Dalton the week school started and that weekend, he came to visit and asked if he could live with us and go to McKinley. We let him. We travel a lot for our jobs, but he was already 18. He didn't need our permission to do things. So, we figured that if it was what he wanted, it was fine with us. We're gone probably three-quarters of the month, so it's not surprising that you were here when we weren't."

"I see. Well we won't keep you. We'll just call him and arrange to meet him somewhere for lunch. I thought maybe we could just catch him here, but obviously I didn't have all of the facts. Sorry for bothering you."

"It's fine, Kurt. After you broke up with him, I wasn't surprised when he thanked us and told us that he was going back to Dalton. He was the perfect houseguest here. And he seemed happy the first couple of months at McKinley, but then after you two broke up… Well, he was always seemed happy there at Dalton, leading the Warblers. I hope he's happy again. I should call him. I should be a better aunt or at least try. It would probably have been easier if I had met him before he was 16."

"So, you've only known him for a couple of years?"

"He started as a freshman two and a half years ago at Dalton and that's when I met him."

"I see. We'll just call him, like we said. Thanks, again."

Kurt turned to open the door and let himself out. Sebastian followed him. They both got in the Navigator quickly. Kurt pulled out of the driveway and headed back towards the Hummel's.

"That was super weird," Sebastian said.

"The more I know, the more I realize that I didn't know him at all. I think he needs help though. I'm not sure that you being with me to meet him is a good idea though. I mean you being right with me. I'm not going without you. I'm just thinking maybe you can sit across the room, so he knows you're there, but you're far enough away that you can't hear. Please do not think that I have any interest in getting back together with him. It's not that AT ALL. "

"Whatever you want. You're kind of freaking me out."

"I'm kind of freaked out." Kurt pulled over and called Blaine.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Kurt?"

"Yeah, Blaine it's me. Will you meet me in Bellefontaine for lunch?"

"I guess. Why do you want to see me? You haven't spoken to me in ages."

"I'll tell you when we're there. Can you leave now and meet me?"

"Um, sure. Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Okay. I'm going to get my coat on and meet you. At the diner near the center of town, where we've met before?"

"Yep. See you in 45 minutes or so."

"Yeah."

Kurt turned a CD on and he and Sebastian drove to Bellefontaine singing along, but not talking.


	16. Chapter 16

Kurt parked and they both got out. Kurt walked up to the diner first and waited for Blaine to arrive.

Once they both went inside, Sebastian got out and went in as well. He asked to be seated diagonally across the restaurant from where Kurt and Blaine were sitting.

"Sebastian's here?"

"Yeah. He came with me. But I didn't bring him to be part of this conversation."

"Rumor has it that he lives with you in Lima."

"That's true."

"Did Sam move in with Finn?"

"That has nothing to do with why I wanted to talk to you. I'm confused and concerned. I've been thinking about a lot of things and in doing so, a lot of questions about you and us came to me. We actually went to your house in Lima to talk to you this morning, only to be greeted by your Aunt Janice, who gave me a tiny bit of info, but nothing private. She said that you asked to live with her and your uncle the first weekend after school started. She said that she only met you a couple of years ago."

"That's all true. I did meet her a couple of years ago. She's my uncle Dennis' wife. He's my dad's younger brother by like 10 years or more, like me and Coop. So, Dennis is in his late 30s, she's about 35 I think. He and Janice have been married like 3 or 4 years. Dennis and my dad don't get along. So, we weren't invited to the wedding."

"I see. Who's Coop?"

"Cooper's my older brother."

"Alright. Why were you living with your aunt and uncle?"

"Because I wanted to go to McKinley and they live in Lima."

"Where do your parents live? Why Dalton?"

"I had been attending a private schools through junior high in Wisconsin, which is where we lived. My dad and Dennis both attended Dalton. He sort of made amends with Dennis to the point of letting me use my aunt and uncle's house as a place to crash during short school breaks. It's actually my aunt's house. She inherited it not long before they got married. They decided to use it at their home base since they travel so much. It doesn't really matter to them where their actual house is since they don't do anything but spend a few days there every couple of weeks. It was nice, in a quiet neighborhood, already furnished, and free. They moved into the house when their apartment lease was up."

"I see. Why did you keep things from me? Why were you so secretive about everything?"

"You trusted me. You came to me with your problems."

"I would have still trusted you. People can be strong and still have problems of their own."

"Tell me why you really wanted to meet me."

"There are things I know, which isn't much I came to realize, there are things I assumed, there are other things I have pieced together that may or may not be accurate, there are rumors I've heard, and there are things I know nothing about that I should. I'll start with those just because they are so strange looking back on things. You don't have to give me any answers, but the fact that I don't know them already is just super strange to me.

"Alright."

"I do not know anything about your parents – their names, their professions, and where they live. I do not know anything about any siblings, except that you just mentioned an older brother. I don't know when your birthday is, or to be perfectly honest, how old you were until this morning when your aunt said you were already 18 before school started this year. I didn't actually know that you were a junior until you transferred to McKinley. I assumed you were a junior last year, like me. Wes mentioned you being a junior member of the Warblers during practice one day. I didn't know that you were living with your aunt and uncle when you were in Lima. And two minutes ago, you said you were living in Wisconsin before you started at Dalton. These are things that I should have known about someone I had been friends with for nearly a year and dated for 7 months."

Blaine didn't say anything.

"Moving on, I guess. From my perspective, you liked me from pretty much the moment we met on the stairs. You took my hand and led me running through the corridors. You sang 'Teenage Dream' looking right at me. You flirted through the whole song. You invited me to come back to the school and within a few minutes, you sent David and Wes away to talk to me alone. Care to correct me?"

"Alright. The truth is that I recognized you on the stairs. I pulled you to the performance so that I could show you how good we were. The idea was to be kind and welcoming, but intimidating with our talent. When I saw you, I knew you had come to spy on us. I figured a good show was the best way to send you back to McKinley afraid that we'd beat you. Maybe you'd lose your mojo a bit and we'd win. Your group hadn't made it past Regionals the year before, and hadn't existed before that. It seemed like a good idea at the time. When you agreed to come back the next day, I was surprised, but there was something about the look in your eyes that had me curious. You weren't just spying on the Warblers. You were checking the school out."

"That's true too. It was like a dream school. Students were walking through the halls and no one was getting shoved. Everyone was so well mannered."

"So, we talked and I found out that you were being bullied. I gave you bad advice because I didn't take into consideration that your bully was so much larger than you. Honestly, I didn't have any experience with bullies. And of course, I had no idea that he was a closeted bully who was potentially attracted to you."

"Well, I had no idea either about that part either."

"After you followed my advice and it went so badly, I panicked. I wanted you to come to Dalton to get away after standing up for yourself didn't work."

"And I did go to Dalton. And you flirted and spent a ton of time with me. I thought we were dating, but that you were just shy and too scared to ask me officially."

"Yeah. Well, Sebastian's probably already given you information on that."

"No. Actually, he's never told me anything about you other than that he's heard rumors that he won't repeat because he doesn't spread lies about people."

"Oh. Well, that's good of him. So, you don't know any of the rumors."

"Well, I know what I've heard from other people, not Sebastian."

"Okay. Back to when we first met. After you stood up for yourself, I went to McKinley and I made things even worse."

"That's true. You nearly outing him on the stairs is what made him so afraid that he threatened to kill me to keep me from telling anyone else, but at the time, I was under so much stress, I didn't realize that. I just chalked it up to him upping the ante again. He had been getting progressively more violent anyway."

"So, you transferred to Dalton, costing your family money they didn't really have to pay for your tuition all because I had publicly spouted off to a closeted, self-hating bully. I felt bad. I did my best to help you fit in. I got you into the Warblers the week before Sectionals without an audition and tried to help you assimilate as quickly as possible. What I didn't realize that I was doing by spending so much time with you alone was making you think that I liked you in a romantic way. I can't explain why it didn't dawn on me that you would take it that way, other than the fact that I had never even considered it. You are just not my type. I'm attracted to athletic guys – jocks. Honestly, if he were gay, Puck would be more my type. Or Sam or even Mike. I never meant to hurt you. Even with the whole stupid GAP thing, which I don't even want to talk about – Jeremiah is more my type – taller, broader, athletic, casually dressed. I love fashion magazines. All that stuff about Vogue and musicals and everything – that's all me. None of that was fake. It's just that I never really considered dating someone with those interests. I hadn't actually considered dating at all. You were the most perfect potential best friend ever. I had never just clicked with anyone over my less masculine interests. All of my other friends, gay or straight, were into sports, video games, music, and cars."

"Alright. So, why didn't you just tell me this after you knew for certain that I liked you as more than a potential best friend? I could have handled that. But you said we were like Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. They get together in the end, Blaine. If you had just said, 'You're not my type, but I really do like or love you as a friend', we might actually still be friends."

Blaine just sat there thinking.

"You knew that I'd had crushes on guys before and gotten over them. Finn, Sam. You knew that. You knew that I could have gotten over my crush on you. But instead, you strung me along for months, and then kissed me out of the blue after my song 'moved you'."

"You were moving on. You were already getting over your crush on me. I could see what was about to happen. You called the Warblers 'Blaine and the Pips'. You were getting fed up with being another blazer-clad Dalton student. You had healed and were ready to leave and stand on your own again. You were going home more weekends. And I would be alone again. I didn't want to lose you."

"You've said that before. That was one of the things you had said that was floating around in my mind."

"You loved me. You put up with all of the crap I had put you through and you still loved me. I couldn't lose that. No one loved me. Not for who I was. My dad and mom sent me away and never came to see me. They sent me on trips for winter break. I worked at Six Flags in the summers. My aunt and uncle didn't even know me, so of course, they don't love me. Aaron didn't love me. I had pals and friends and people I did things with, but you were the only one who loved me."

"Who's Aaron?"

"I'll get to that. So, when I felt you pulling away, when you had quit fawning over me, I pushed through my hesitance and kissed you. I did love you, but not the way I should have to kiss you. I wanted to keep you and I knew you still had enough of a romantic flame left for me that me kissing you would pull you back to me."

"Well it worked. Then on top of that, a couple of months later, you actually told me that you loved me."

"I do. I did love you – just not romantically. I knew I was leaving to spend the summer at Six Flags. I didn't want you to give up on me over the summer. I knew I could never be a good boyfriend spending the whole summer away from you, but I didn't want to lose you. When I came back, I stayed at my uncle's and you teased me about going to McKinley with you. You were so happy about going back. I thought I'd try going with you. Karofsky was gone. You weren't getting bullied anymore, so it seemed safe enough. I ask my aunt and uncle to let me stay at their house and attend McKinley, and they agreed. I knew they wouldn't be there most of the time, and I liked the idea of the freedom. And it was fine, more than fine actually. I really liked McKinley. I got along with the Glee guys. I spent a couple of weekends a month, either at Puck's place or yours hanging out, playing video games and talking sports."

"Yeah. I know."

"Then I began to realize that I actually enjoyed being one of the guys and the fact that I could have that and still have you be happy with the girls like you had been before you came to Dalton. It seemed like a good solution. We had our things in common. I had things in common with the guys and you had things in common with the girls. And I started to want to fall in love with you for real. I had quit spending time with Aaron, which again, I'll get to. Our physical relationship was moving at a glacial speed – just hugs, pecks, and closed-mouth kisses. Even once I realized I really did want a real relationship with you beyond being best friends, I didn't know how to move forward from there because you were so inexperienced and hesitant. You were such a romantic and I didn't want to push you. Plus, I was just getting used to the idea of potentially being more sexual with you. When you asked me that night in my room, you took me by surprise. I didn't know what to say."

"Well, what you said shocked me. It actually made me think that maybe you didn't find my physically attractive. But it was very confusing. So, how does what Artie said to you fit into this time frame?"

"I already answered about the lack of physical attraction. You know about Artie?"

"Yeah, vaguely. I found out later. But please explain."

"Well, he pointed out that Rachel and I were not doing a good job of portraying a couple in love that had been sexually awakened. Artie asked us what it was like our first times. Rachel balked and I knew that meant she hadn't had a first time. I said that I was waiting for the right time. I was just hoping to end the conversation quickly without incriminating myself. I knew that you thought I was a virgin and that if I said anything different that Rachel, being Rachel, would tell you. It was terribly uncomfortable."

"I can imagine. And the whole conversation was completely inappropriate for him to start."

"Well, it had only been a few days since you had suggested us moving forward. I considered it. I thought the night we went to Scandals would be a good time because I could get you to drink a little, not a lot, just enough to get you to relax a bit, and then we could go back to my place, which was empty and we could move things forward. Unfortunately, I drank way too much and I made a jackass of myself when you tried to get me in the car and I didn't listen to you and I scared you. And you broke up with me."

"True. You broke my trust and my heart." Kurt lowered his voice even more. "And afterwards, you asked Sebastian what it was like to have sex with someone you love. He told you that he didn't know and you didn't like his answer."

Blaine responded in a barely audible whisper. "I was hoping that he could tell me so that I could use his insight into how to improve the way I was portraying Tony. But he was like me, he hadn't had sex with someone he loved."

"I'm not sure how to take that statement. Explain please."

"He'd had hook-ups, but never been in love with anyone."

"You misunderstood his answer. He's a virgin."

"What?"

"Still is. Me too."

"Wait. He was hitting on me practically from the time I walked into the Warbler's practice room."

"You'll have to talk to him about his motivation for that. But he's not a French manwhore. That was a carefully constructed persona."

"Well, he's convincing at it."

"Be that as it may, you still aren't making much sense to me. You pretended to be a virgin to Rachel and Artie to save face or something? And you kept that information from me as well. And please explain who Aaron is."

"Okay. So, yes, I sort of pretended to Rachel and Artie, but the truth is that I had never been in love with anyone so I felt like I had never made love and that's what he was talking about. I felt like I was missing out on something about this awakening that Artie was discussing. Aaron is a guy at Dalton that I've had a friends-with-benefits thing with for a long time. I'll still get back to that. You wanted to move forward. I saw it as my opportunity to take the lead and to sleep with someone I loved. I wasn't in love with you, but I did love you. You had seemed interested less than a week before, so I bought what we needed and thought up a plan, which I myself botched."

"So, back to Aaron."

"Aaron. He's our age. He was one of the first gay guys I met at Dalton. He and I hung out a lot and liked a lot of the same things. We'd watch sports on TV. He and I decided to experiment with each other – the whole friends-with-benefits thing. As time went on, our benefits expanded – completely. But we've never had any romantic feelings for each other."

"Okay and from what you said earlier about taking the 'lead', I'm guessing you bottomed all the time?"

"Right."

"Is that what made you less sympathetic about my first guy kiss not being with someone I liked? You kind of scoffed at me, kindly, but still scoffed, when I said I had never had a kiss that counted."

"Well, under your terms, nothing I had done had 'counted' since it hadn't been with someone I was romantically interested in. It was a weird idea. That was the basis for the weird response."

"So, how long did this thing with Aaron go on?"

Blaine looked down and pursed his lips.

"I see. So, past the point it should have. Did you see Aaron over the summer?"

"Yes, he lives in Chicago. I called it off when I realized that I really wanted to be in a romantic relationship with you. I couldn't hurt you like that."

"So, what, like in September?"

"Yeah, after I started at McKinley"

"So, when I asked you that night and you gave me the masturbation answer, you had gone back to satisfying yourself?"

"Yeah."

"I'm assuming that since you've been back at Dalton that you've resumed this arrangement? And that those are the rumors that Sebastian is hearing?"

"Yes. And it's not just Aaron." Blaine looked down at his lap again. "I was still curious about topping and Aaron refuses. So, I have another arrangement with someone else."

"Is that really what you want, Blaine? Two partners who don't love you?"

"Since I've never had a crush or felt those butterflies people talk about, I never have had that 'awakening' that Artie talked about. I don't have a frame of reference for seeing any difference between 'hooking up' and 'making love'. The attraction is purely physical. Sex feels fantastic. And I'm definitely into switching. I actually enjoy the different dynamic, so I don't have a problem with my arrangements."

"That's fine then. I'm not judging. It was a legitimate question."

"I thought about what you said the last night I called. You're probably right. I enjoy being the center of attention. I don't know if it's just a personality trait or an issue I should seek help for. But I do think that you're right – if and when I do start to look for someone to date, I shouldn't look at performers. I told you that you weren't my usual type. I need to stick with that and stay away from performers. I'm struggling this semester because Sebastian won the contest and I'm not lead Warbler. The position of leadership brought respect at Dalton since the Warblers are so highly thought of. I miss that. But I'll get my position back when he leaves."

"If and when you decide to look for a new person to date, you're going to need to learn to open up. If you had been honest with me from the get-go, things would be completely different now. Back to something you said a few minutes ago. How did you not have any experience with bullying? What about the Sadie Hawkins incident?"

Blaine looked down at his lap again.

"You made that up?"

"Prom was more than I was ready to deal with. We had only been dating a short period of time. Proms are so romanticized. I didn't want all that pressure. But then you looked so disappointed when I hesitated. I just repeated someone else's story. It's a true story – it's just not my story."

"But you said you had been bullied when I very first came to Dalton and talked to you, Wes, and David."

"I was trying to be sympathetic or empathetic or whatever. Again, what I said was true – just not something that had happened to me personally."

"So, if your family lives in Wisconsin and you had gone to school there, how did you end up at Dalton?"

"My dad and Dennis went there. They grew up in Ohio. But mostly I ended up there because of the No Bullying policy. I came out toward the end of 9th grade. I was 15."

"So, you hadn't been bullied, but your dad sent you to a boarding school in another state because of the No Bullying policy?"

"We started family therapy after I came out. My therapist suggested my dad find something to do with me to try to reconnect with me since he blew up about me being gay – something to make peace. We worked on rebuilding a car. He hoped I'd turn into the son he wanted. I hoped he'd just accept me. Neither of us got what we wanted."

"So, your dad isn't accepting of the fact that you're gay, but he wanted you to go to a school where you wouldn't be bullied. That really makes no sense."

"I'm doing a bad job of explaining it."

"Try again. And you said you went to school in Wisconsin through junior high and then you just said you came out in 9th grade and you were at home."

"Okay. It's not so much that he blew up about me being gay, it's that I had kept it with him along with the fact that I had been doing poorly in school. The school I went to was 7th, 8th, and 9th grade, more like the schools in Europe. High school would have just been three years there."

"That explains part of it. So, you were doing poorly in school for whatever reason and you had been hiding that from him. And you came out to your family around the same time he found out you were not doing well in school."

"Right. So, we started family therapy. He convinced Dalton to let me enroll as a freshman, citing emotional distress and that I had been in therapy and was recovered or whatever. We were never close anyway. Cooper is the favorite son. Less so with my mom, but Cooper is definitely my dad's favorite. I mean, who would choose me over him?"

"I don't get it. I feel like I'm missing a key piece of information."

Blaine pulled his phone out. "This is Cooper." He turned the phone so Kurt could see the photo.

"Your brother is a famous actor?"

"Yes. Cooper Anderson is my brother."

"I get it. He gets all the attention."

"From everyone."

"So, your dad made arrangements for you to start over at Dalton. Why on earth would he let you transfer to McKinley last fall?"

"My parents don't know. I got my trust fund when I turned 18 in August. I just didn't pay the tuition and I enrolled myself at McKinley and used my aunt and uncle's address."

"So, you don't even talk to your parents?"

"I do. They just ask questions like, 'How's school?' I just avoided mentioning any girls' names when I was at McKinley. I liked the freedom of living on my own, but I'm better off at Dalton."

"Well, whatever makes you happier, I guess. Your decision to keep everything in and only let me know surface information about you isn't the way to treat someone you care for. And despite everything we've been through, I do still care. That's why I called you. When I started to really piece things together, I began to wonder if you have anyone who really cares about you anymore. I can't be the person that's there for you. You made that choice for us. You actions tore us apart. But please, find some people who care about you – friends, maybe your aunt and uncle, if you open up to them. Who knows, maybe even your parents in time. You can look for another friend who could become your best friend. Or go see the school counselor to work through the rest of your issues with basically being abandoned by your parents. Please."

"I'll think about it. I do need to deal with things. I don't want to crash and burn when I leave Dalton because I don't know how to deal with life. I thought I would enjoy the freedom, and it was fine while we were dating, but once we weren't I didn't do that well on my own."

Kurt reached across the table and put his hand on top of Blaine's. "For what it's worth, I wish you had trusted me. And I wish I could go back to trusting you, but I can't right now. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I want you to know that I don't hate you. I mostly feel really sad about all of it because I've lost someone who could have been a great friend. Get some help, please. I do care and I wish you the best." He pulled his hand back.

Blaine nodded.

Kurt put $10 down on the table and walked over to Sebastian, who also put $10 down and followed Kurt outside.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt had been driving for about 15 minutes before he spoke. "I have a suggestion."

"What?"

"Suggest a dual lead at Nationals. One song you sing lead on. One song he sings lead on. And one song you alternate on where you sing lead on the verses and he sings the lead on the choruses or vice versa. Or one song each, and then a group song that features all of the seniors somehow. I don't actually know if that's possible, since I'm not sure who all of the seniors are. But those are my two suggestions. It's fairly obvious that he will resume the lead as soon as the election is held for next year. It seems like a really good transition. No more hostilities and no more tension."

"I can live with that. I just wasn't going to give up what I had worked for just because he came back to claim it."

"And I understand that. I think the Warblers have improved greatly with the current council and you as lead – improved so much that we tied and now we're both going to Nationals."

"So, you two worked out the issues?"

"I did. There wasn't really anything for him to work out. He's the one that had all of the information that I didn't have. Once he answered some questions, I could fill in missing details and get a better picture. If the rumor that's going around Dalton is that he's hooking up with two different guys, then it's true. I didn't tell you so that you would spread the rumor, but he said that's what he's doing and it's what he wants. I told him that it's not my place to judge and if that makes him happy, then so be it."

"That is what I had heard. Aaron and Antony."

"He didn't name the second guy, but it doesn't matter. He's not my boyfriend, so who he's sleeping with is none of my concern. And if the other part of the rumor was that he was still hooking up with Aaron while he was dating me, then that is true as well. Again, not that it needs repeated."

"I won't repeat it. That's also what I heard, but I didn't ask questions and didn't repeat it. That's the end of what I've heard."

"I suggested that he seek the counselor at Dalton to help him deal with his issues."

"I've been to see him a few times. He was helpful with trying to help me figure out a way to finish high school this year. I haven't heard anyone complain about him. Hopefully, he will be helpful, should Blaine decide to go see him."

Kurt spent the rest of the drive back thinking.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got back home, Sam was back. He was in the kitchen cooking.

"Whatcha' makin'?" Kurt asked in a silly voice as he walked into the kitchen.

Sebastian headed up the stairs.

"Not much. Just a grilled cheese to go with a can of soup I'm warming up. I didn't feel like putting in a lot of effort."

"We could watch a movie in the family room if you want," Kurt offered.

"I haven't done any of my schoolwork yet. Sorry. Maybe if I get it done this afternoon, we can watch one tonight."

"Okay. You know I'm here, if you ever want to talk or if you need help with anything." Kurt hugged him and turned and went upstairs.

He shut the door behind him after he went in. "So, I'm feeling very weird after my talk with Blaine. A lot of what he said confused me. I'm going to do some research online. I can do it while you read or listen to music or watch a movie. I just want sit close to you, if that's okay."

Sebastian walked toward where Kurt was. "I don't know what he said or if you're going to share it with me, but yes, I want you near me. I'm sure that some of what he said was hurtful. What he did to you was hurtful. I'm here for you, _mon étoile_. You know that, right? He didn't say things to make you doubt me, did he?"

"Not specifically, no. He didn't say anything about you except that he thought your answer at Scandals that night meant you were a hook-up, not a relationship kind of guy."

"Okay, well, he misunderstood my answer and I am definitely a relationship kind of guy."

"I know." Kurt stepped closer to Sebastian and wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned in. "He didn't actually discuss you other than that."

"Something's bothering you though."

"Yes. I'm going to put my pajamas back on, get in bed with you, and do some research, while sitting as close to you as I can without being totally annoying." Kurt let go and kissed him. He went into the closet and left his jeans in there. He came out wearing pajama pants and a hoodie, carrying the bolster. He put it on the bed. He tossed a throw onto the bed and grabbed his computer. Sebastian had slipped his jeans off and replaced them with pajama pants as well and was in the bed by the time Kurt got in it holding his laptop.

"You're sure a movie won't bother you?"

"I'm sure. This is information gathering. It's fine."

Sebastian wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders and scooted close. "Does this hurt?"

"Nope." He turned and kissed Sebastian. "It feels perfect."

Sebastian managed to wiggle his left leg under Kurt's right leg and played footsie with Kurt. He looked through the choices and started a French movie he hadn't seen.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour and a half later after Sebastian's movie ended, Kurt asked Sebastian to read the information he had pulled up on the internet. This time Kurt had his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and was lightly drawing patterns on his right upper arm. Sebastian read through the tabs Kurt had open.

When he was finished, he asked, "So you think this is what his deal is?"

"I think so. I'm obviously not an expert since I just found that information, but putting everything I know together, it fits. I think he's aromantic. He said he's never had a crush on anyone. He never felt romantic feelings for me, despite the fact that by the fall, he wanted to be in a relationship with me. He feels sexual attraction, but when I tried to explain to him how I felt about romance, he never seemed to get it. It also sort of explains his reaction to enjoying the Spin the Bottle kiss with Rachel. He had never had a crush on a boy, but felt sexually attracted to them. He had never had a crush on a girl, but the kiss was stimulating – I mean he was smashed drunk, but still. I can see why the kiss being sexually stimulating under those circumstances would make him wonder if he was bi."

Sebastian just listened.

"He has some other issues as well that seem to be family based. I found out he has a brother. He and I were friends for nearly a year and dated 7 months before I broke up with him and I didn't know that his parents don't live in Ohio or that he has an older brother. He made mistakes. I made mistakes. I should never have let things go on for so long without knowing anything personal about him. I'll give him this – he's the king of changing the subject and staying the center of attention without giving any personal information away. Here's wild speculation. I think his parents love his older brother, a lot. I am guessing that seeing that your parents CAN love their child, but that you aren't the loved child causes that child to seek out ways to get their parents' attention or at least attention from their peers to fill in the much sought after attention. Being the leader of the Warblers gave him that. I loved him and gave him the unconditional love he had sought. It turns out that he did love me, but platonically. From everything he said, I don't think he has ever experienced romantic feelings."

"So, he used you."

"Yes. And I willingly overlooked his very clear statement to me that he was bad at romance and that he didn't want to risk our friendship by attempting to date me. When I got fed up with his attention-seeking behavior and called him out on it, he got scared that I was going to drop him as a friend. I was the only one in his life who loved him. He did the only thing a drowning person thinks of – reach out to keep hold of something to keep from going under. Rather than question his sudden change of heart after he kissed me, which is what I should have done since he had made it clear so many times before that he only had platonic friendship feelings for me, I just accepted his 180 degree change in behavior. I got so lost in the excitement of finally feeling wanted that I overlooked what he had said in the past. I trusted that he was being honest with me."

"He lied to you from the beginning of your relationship."

"He did. And about more than I've said. And I was desperate enough to believe his lies. Not a good combination."

"You seem very calm about all of this."

Kurt took Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers. "I think it's because I'm in a good place now. I've moved past being desperate. And I don't believe that I'm being taken advantage in our relationship. What we've shared has gone both ways. What I know about you and what you know about me isn't one-sided. I've seen no reason to believe that you are lying to me or manipulating me or using me. And I guess I've grown enough to realize that if you are, when the gig is up, I can put myself back together again. I honestly hope that never, ever happens. I want this between us to be real more than I can express in words. But if you're playing me and you break my heart, I know that I can live through it because I have once already." Kurt let go of Sebastian's hand. He shut the laptop and moved it to the end of his side of the bed. He carefully arranged himself so that he was sitting on Sebastian's lap and tipped his chin up to look him in the eyes. "I love you. I choose to trust you. I want to be with you."

"I love you too." Can you let me up for just a second? I want to grab my bag." Sebastian grabbed it and sat down and scooted to the center of the bolster and put the bag to his right. "Sit on my lap again."

Kurt arranged himself on Sebastian's lap.

"Close your eyes for a minute. I have something in my bag I want to get out." He reached in and pulled out two small boxes. He opened one of them and held it between them. "Open your eyes."

"What is that?"

"It's a promise ring. One day when we're able to live on our own, I want us to get engaged, but until then will you wear this ring as a symbol of my love for you?"

"It's really interesting." He took the box and looked at the ring. "Why did you choose this one?"

"Well, honestly, the rhombus shaped raised parts around the band reminded me of a gem shape and the design between them reminded me of stars. And they're in the infinity symbol pattern around the whole ring."

"Our French pet names for each other…"

"Yes."

"Will you put it on me?"

"Yes, of course." Sebastian took the ring out of the box and slipped it on Kurt's finger.

"Did you get one for yourself or do we need to go out so I can get you one too? I want you to have a matching one." He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian.

"I did buy one for me to wear. It's right here." He picked up the box next to his leg and offered it to Kurt.

Kurt took the box, opened it, pulled the ring out, closed it, and put it on the bed next to him. "Can I put it on you?"

"Please." Sebastian held his hand out, which was trembling slightly.

Kurt slipped the ring on. "You're trembling. You were afraid I would say 'no'?"

"I hoped you would say 'yes'. But there's always the same fear you just told me lurking deep down. That one day you'll say it was all a joke and that none of it was real."

Kurt leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and looked him directly in the eyes. "This is absolutely real to me. We've shared our hopes, our dreams, and our fears with each other. I can't think of anything that you don't already know about me. I'm sure there are little tiny things, but I've not just shown you the 'good' parts of me. You know my shortcomings too. And you've been open with me about your life in Paris. I don't feel like you're keeping secrets from me." He closed the distance between them and kissed Sebastian. "I love you. I will proudly wear your ring."

"I'm glad you like it. I looked at a lot of rings online. I really liked the design of this one."

"I really do like it and how much thought you put into choosing them for us. I only have one request. Let me pay you for your ring. I want it to be from me." He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian again, this time licking his lip and pressing in for a more passionate kiss.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was snuggled up into Sebastian's side, while they talked. "I'm not sure what to do about our 'Work Really Hard, Make Lots of Money During Spring Break' plan. The doctor didn't release me to work. I'm sure I wasn't supposed to participate yesterday either, but I didn't ask permission. But one more time of taking too many painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills is a lot different than taking that many twice a day for 10 days straight to be able to do my job at the shop."

"And sleeping in the back of the Navigator would be nearly impossible to do."

"We could see if we can fit an air mattress in there. Maybe our full-size one would fit. I used to use it for the girls when they slept over."

"No way to know unless we try. I'll go pull the Navigator into the garage. You go find the air mattress."

"I can't carry it. It's too heavy and bulky. Well, I mean I CAN of course, but I'm not currently allowed to."

"That's okay. Just find it and show me where it is after I pull the Navigator inside."

When Sebastian had shut the garage door after driving in, Kurt opened the door from the house and went inside the garage. "It's in the storage room in the basement." Kurt explained where to find it.

Sebastian pulled the box down off the shelf, carried it upstairs, and took it to the garage. "So, tell me what to do. I've never seen one of these in person."

Kurt explained what Sebastian needed to do and then he started inflating the mattress. They waited for it to finish. Kurt disconnected the compressor.

"Well, it fits. The question is can I get in there without it hurting a ton." Kurt sat on the edge of the folded down backseat. "Come closer. I'm going to put my left foot on your thigh and see if I can push back and just use my right hand to balance myself and get up on the mattress."

Sebastian let him and he managed to do it.

"Shut my door and climb in on the other side."

He lay down next to Kurt on his back. Kurt rolled onto his side and scooted closer to Sebastian, who extended his arm under Kurt's neck to let Kurt lie on his shoulder.

"Well, lengthwise it's kind of tight, but we sleep really close together so maybe we could lie a little on the diagonal to give us a little more space."

"That could work. We could also push the front seats forward, which would give us a little more space."

"True. I think we could do it. The question is whether we want to."

"I think we'd have to skip the hotels and just stay at campgrounds. I think the air mattress will actually be more comfortable than a potentially hard mattress in a cheap hotel."

"I've only ever stayed at those two hotels with you. So, my hotel knowledge is very limited."

"Some have very uncomfortable beds."

"Ah. Well, you're probably right about this being better than a hard bed."

"Let's deflate it and go upstairs and discuss our options."

Sebastian turned on his side and kissed him first. "Okay."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, they had a map pulled up on Sebastian's laptop, a bunch of tabs open on Kurt's, a table Kurt was creating in a notebook, and a few potential itineraries in a notebook that Sebastian was working on that they were looking at.

"So, we come back Saturday night so we have time to get all of the laundry done and rest up some from all of the driving?"

"Agreed."

"So, let me see your possible stops." Kurt leaned over to look at Sebastian's notebook.

There was a knock on their door.

"Come in," Kurt answered.

Carole opened the door. "You ARE here."

"We are."

"The Navigator wasn't in the driveway."

"Oh, we were seeing if the air mattress would fit in the back, so we pulled it into the garage to try it out."

"Oh. Okay. You two look like you're plotting to take over the world over there," she teased.

"Oh, well, we're reconsidering our trip option for spring break since the doctor didn't clear me to go back to work until after that. I can't lift anything. Those jackasses are going to end up costing me $2000 in pay. Plus, whatever you and Dad get charged for the ER bill, the cast, the doctors visits, and the medicine. Anyway, we're reconsidering our road trip possibility."

"Why would you put the air mattress in the Navigator?"

"Oh, well, there's no way we can afford hotels for a week, so we're thinking of staying at campsites. Ones that have bathrooms and showers, but just small camping sites, and we were thinking of sleeping in the Nav instead of the tent because there are bears."

"I see. I think I'd skip the tent too if there are bears," she laughed.

Sebastian spoke up. "We haven't figured out whether we can even afford this option yet. There's food and gas on top of the campground fees. We're making charts and stuff."

"Well, you two are good at planning, so I'm sure you'll figure it out. I didn't get to congratulate the two of you yesterday. You both did a great job at the competition."

"Thanks," they responded in unison.

She laughed. "Your Dad was surprised by your song. I guess he didn't realize that you could sing low like that."

"I've been working on my lower range in my voice lessons, getting more comfortable singing in that range."

"Well, it sounded great."

"I had never heard you sing by yourself, Sebastian. You're good and a lot of fun to watch. You make people want to get up and sing along and have fun with you."

"Thanks." He had a huge grin on his face. No adults had ever really complimented him.

"And now both groups are moving on to Nationals. Is the competition in New York again?"

"Chicago," Kurt responded.

"Shorter drive."

"Yes, even from Westerville," Sebastian said.

"How's school going, Sebastian?"

"It's fine. I had lacrosse conditioning this past week. And then again this coming week. I guess we'll play outside, even though it's freezing. I don't know how else the coach can choose the team this week."

"That sounds awful. I hope they give you something warm to wear."

"Me too."

"Maybe you should borrow one of Sam's thick zip-up hoodies," she suggested.

"I'll consider it. I'm not sure what we're allowed to wear. Maybe we're just going to play inside in the gym, even though the space is way too small."

"Those bleachers flatten into the walls to create three basketball courts," Kurt said.

"Oh, well then, we might be able to make a half-pitch sized area, but indoors, the ball rolls and it doesn't on grass, so I don't know."

"If you find out they're playing outside, please go to the Columbia outlet not far from the school and get some of the winter sports layering pants and shirts they sell," Carole said. "I've been in there and they have nice stuff. That's where I got that nice winter coat I wear. I'm sure it's picked over by now, so they might not have any matching sets left, but matching or not, you won't freeze."

"That's a good idea. If I find out that we're going outside to play, I'll look the place up and go there. By the time the games start, it should be warmer, I hope. The games start in three weeks. The team roster goes up Friday, so I'll find out then whether I'm on the team or not."

"Well, hopefully some type of cold-weather undergarments are part of the uniform. Sometimes it's only in the lower 40s that time of year."

"That's barely above freezing. It's colder here than it is in Paris. Plus, we didn't start until later in Paris because the school year is longer and starts and ends later. So, we never played when it was actually cold out. Lacrosse is a spring sport, not a winter sport. I'm not sure I want to play in the freezing cold. I'm not used to even living where it's this cold."

"We won't think less of you if you decide not to play. Playing a sport or participating in something after school should be for your enjoyment at this point, sweetie. You've already gotten a scholarship to college and you signed your acceptance offer. You don't need anything else on your CV to make you look good. These last couple of months should be for you to enjoy the end of your time in high school. You're already taking an extra class, working two jobs, and leading a show choir to Nationals. Unless lacrosse is adding to your joy in life, don't worry about it."

Sebastian nodded.

"Honey, what did the doctor say about when you can go back to work? And cheering?"

"He wouldn't give a date. He just had me schedule another follow up for the Monday after spring break to examine me again."

"I see."

"I don't know about cheering anyway. It's such a mixed bag. You were right about what you just said to Sebastian. I already got into college as well and signed my acceptance. Being on the squad isn't going to change that at this point. Glee is enough of a struggle. I don't really need anything else that is stressful. I should just let everything heal up and focus on working to make up for the massive amount of money I'm losing because of my injuries."

"Honey, don't worry so much about money. You know your Dad will help with your college expenses."

"I know, but I don't want him to have to."

"I see. I understand wanting to make it on your own. And you will. But you need to keep in mind that your dad loves you very much and helping you through college is something he WANTS to do. Refusing his help altogether will not be what he is expecting. You two need to talk."

"You're probably right. But I don't want to be a burden anymore. I want to be able to take care of myself. We had it all planned out how we could earn enough money to be able to pay everything ourselves and me not being able to work is putting a big dent in that."

"I understand, honey. But let it go for now, okay? Your dad makes a lot more than he did a year ago. He's already struggling under the guilt that he couldn't keep you at Dalton. He was really upset when he realized that the guys have been excluding you this whole time and that the girls quit including you last fall. And then you opted to go to college in Ohio, which was a huge shock to him. He feels like you compromised and gave up your dream. He misses you a lot. Like we talked about before, he wants to make a difference and he absolutely didn't want Sue in Washington, but he didn't really think through how him winning would mean missing out on your last few months at home with him. If you don't even let him help you pay to go to college in Ohio, it's going to hurt him a lot."

"I'll think about it. Thanks for giving me a different perspective."

"I actually came up to tell you that I'm ordering Chinese. Do you both want your usual?"

"Yes, please," Sebastian said.

"Me too. And thanks."

"I'll go order. I'll text you when it's here and you can come down and eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The four of them ate dinner together at the table.

"I'm picking up a half shift tomorrow evening, so I won't be here for dinner. I brought one of those large pizzas home and put it in the fridge for dinner."

"Thanks," Kurt and Sam said.

"We'll put the leftovers back in the fridge for Tuesday," Sam said.

"Right. Leftovers. I'll have to rethink the meal plans. You two don't eat much at all. I'll cut the pizza in half and put the other half in the deep freeze for another day. You can just cook half of it tomorrow."

Kurt nodded. No one knew what to say.

"The ceremony yesterday was nice. Was Rachel pleased?" Kurt asked, despite not really caring.

"She seemed to be. She was very happy at the reception afterwards. Everyone seemed to be having a good time."

"That's good."

"I know it was hard for you. We can talk about it if you want, after dinner."

"Alright."

"So, no Glee before school. Is Sue expecting you for Cheerios practice?"

"I don't think so. Mondays are typically tumbling practice and I can't participate."

"Are you leaving for Kentucky Friday night, Sam?" she asked.

"Probably. If I can get everything packed Thursday evening."

"I'm flying out Friday evening. I'm going to my friend's house in Columbus and leaving my car there for the week. It really adds up to leave a car parked at the airport."

Kurt said, "That's nice of her to let you leave it there."

"It is. She and I are going to go to dinner and then she's going to drop me at the airport afterwards. Let me know what the two of you decide for the week. I'll need to notify the security company if the house is going to be empty all week."

"We will," Sebastian said.

Sam finished and asked to be excused. He cleared his place and went back upstairs.

"So, Rachel and the wedding. I knew the two of you had had some disagreements, but I didn't realize how angry she was at you until the weekend before the wedding. She didn't want you or Sebastian to even be there. Burt put his foot down and insisted that she couldn't refuse to invite immediate family members."

"I had wondered," Kurt said. "She was hateful before the competition Saturday, implying that I would somehow help the Warblers beat us."

"She said things that I knew weren't true, but I made the choice to hold my tongue. I wanted Finn's wedding to be as nice as possible. He's my son and she's the person he's chosen to be married to."

"I get that. I really do. That's why we showed up, did what we were asked, and left quietly after we had stayed a respectable amount of time."

"It's hard to see your child make a decision that you disagree with and still be supportive of the child when the decision is such a life-altering one."

"I can only imagine," Kurt said. "I've spent enough time with Rachel to know that she won't make this easy. If the situation were reversed, it is unlikely that she would have participated respectfully, just so you know. When she doesn't get her way, she storms out and causes a big scene. When she stuffed the ballot box and caused me to lose, she came in the room crying and asked me not to hate her and then bemoaned the fact that she was suspended and couldn't compete at sectionals. It was all 'Feel sorry for ME. Don't hate ME.' Never mind the fact that Blaine had stolen Tony and she ruined my chances at making some much needed changes at the school by getting me disqualified and that both of those things were things that could have helped me get into college, but SHE wasn't going to get to sing at Sectionals. After I found out about her pact with Blaine, she's been on my 'interact-with-as-little-as-possible' list. Until she grows up, I don't see how there will be any comfortable family gatherings."

"I don't know what the pact was about, but in regards to future family gatherings, we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm figuring that the two of them will go to New York this summer since Rachel is 1000% convinced that's her destiny."

"For the amount of money the Berrys are going to spend on her tuition there, they could pay for a small place in midtown for her and Finn to live in for 10 years while she auditions until she gets a part. She's not ready to go to college to study. Mr. Schue has completely deprived her of the reality of a career as a performer. Not getting to perform at Sectionals and the fact that I beat her for the solo at Regionals is the ONLY experience she's had not getting what she wanted. She's gotten everything she's ever asked for. She is the epitome of a spoiled princess. College isn't a place where spoiled princesses go to be coddled. It will be a serious shock to her, unless NYADA is a diva training ground."

"What pact did she make with Blaine?"

Sebastian shook his head.

Kurt answered, "You don't want to know. And you knowing will only make it more difficult for you to interact with her."

"Alright. Have you considered DC as a travel destination? I bought a guidebook and all of the museums there are free. The zoo too. And you could stay with us, which would be free. It might be a way to still go on your road trip and spend a lot less money and still do cool things."

"Can we look at your book?" Sebastian asked.

"Sure. I'll get it before you go back upstairs."

Kurt said, "Our original plan was to drive to Gatlinburg, then on to Florida. On the way back, we'd take a different route and stop somewhere else. But we could save Florida for a separate trip. It's something to think about."

"I'll go get the book. I'm going to go up and talk to Sam for a while."

Carole got up and retrieved the book.

"Thanks," Kurt said.

Sebastian cleared their places at the table. All three of them headed upstairs. Carole stopped at Sam's door and knocked and went in.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian sat back down on the bed.

"So, DC?"

"It's an option. There's lots of free places to go and no cost to stay there. I mean my parents already know we sleep in the same bed, so it's not like there's something weird about sharing their guest room. I'm still pretty banged up for us to get up to much, unfortunately." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I know. You know that's not why I love you, right?"

"I do." Kurt leaned toward Sebastian and offered him a kiss, which he gladly accepted.

"Good. I think we should seriously consider her idea. I'm not even sure if you're allowed to get saltwater on that cast. I mean I know that showering is okay, but is getting it wet in the ocean okay?"

"I didn't actually ask. But I bet getting sand in it would be absolutely miserable. So, let's go with DC for the second half of the road trip."

Kurt looked at the maps and calculated gas costs. Sebastian looked through the book.

"The overall gas price will be less, but not dramatically. The price of lodging drops a lot though."

"A lot of these museums sound really cool. So, two or three full days in Gatlinburg?"

"How about we leave Friday when you get here? We get there and sleep. We sightsee Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday. We drive to DC on Monday afternoon, getting there in time to go to sleep. Then, we spend Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and most of Friday in DC. We drive back Friday night, and have all day Saturday and Sunday here, just the two of us."

"So, three days at the campgrounds."

They went back to their calculations.

"That's about $350, plus the cost of any attractions we visit in Gatlinburg plus the cost of food," Sebastian said.

"Maybe we should just fly to DC and stay there for several days and go to Gatlinburg some other time, like maybe in August after school starts, but before college classes start. It would be less crowded."

"That's true."

"I just don't know. We had everything worked out and then this," he raised his left wrist and rolled his eyes and plopped back on the bolster. "Ouch. Ugh."

"It looks like we could fly for about $50 more. Maybe your dad has frequent flyer miles or a discount card or something."

"We could ask Carole. I'll text her and ask her to come in here when she's done talking to Sam. I feel bad. He came back here and he seemed really happy about it, but as time has gone on, he seems less happy to be here. I hope no one in his family is sick or something. At least he's doing his homework with me again." Kurt texted Carole.

"I've tried talking to him too, like I said downstairs. Whatever it is, he hasn't told me either."

"Let's just put all of this away for now. After we talk to Carole, we'll decide." Kurt powered his laptop down. They hadn't gotten Sebastian's back out. Kurt put the notebooks on the desk and climbed onto Sebastian's lap. He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian. "I just want to be with you and relax. I don't think I can hike yet if I'm being honest. Maybe in a week, I'll feel remarkably better. There's just no way to know. Museums are probably better for now. I really want to enjoy going to the mountains together. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and now I have someone to go with who I think will enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will. We don't have to rush though. I want to go when you won't be downing pain pills just to be able to hike." He carefully wrapped his arms around Kurt's butt to help him stay in place.

Kurt laughed.

"I don't know where else to put my hands," he laughed.

"That's fine. It would be fine, even if my back wasn't sore."

Sebastian smiled.

Kurt leaned forward and kissed him. He pulled back a bit. "Tonight, I'm not taking one of those prescription pain pills. I want to sleep next to you and be able to remember it tomorrow. It may be silly, but it's what I want."

"Alright. It's not silly. It's sweet. And it makes me feel special."

"You are special."

"Meh."

"Hey, now." Kurt managed to tickle him. He resumed their kissing and ran his fingers through the back of Sebastian's hair, right above the neck. "You are special. You're my best friend and my boyfriend and I love you."

"I love you too and I was just riling you up so you'd tickle me and I could kiss you more." Sebastian pressed in and licked Kurt's upper lip and deepened their kiss.

"I miss you touching me. After we shower – naked cuddles. And we're going to find places that you can touch that don't hurt."

"Great plan." He went back to kissing Kurt.

A couple of minutes later, there was a knock at their door.

Kurt slid off Sebastian's lap and sat next to him as he said, "Come in."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole sat in the chair near the window.

"So, we were thinking that maybe just going to DC would be better for right now since I'm still pretty sore for hiking. But I also know that you've been looking forward to spending the week with Dad. And we don't want to interfere with that."

"Well, Burt only has meetings that Friday, which is why I had planned to go, but I guess he might want to come home for a week and the two of you could spend the week in the apartment. One of you could have my ticket and we could see if there's another ticket still available on the same flight or switch the ticket for a different flight that still has seats available. And Burt could just fly home and relax."

"So, we'd go from Friday until Thursday?"

"I think so. Let me go call Burt and talk to him. We'll talk about it in the morning." She stood and walked back toward the door.

"If he'd rather stay here than to have you go there, that's fine. You two had made plans first."

"Thanks, honey."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A few minutes later, Sam knocked on their door.

"Come in," Kurt said.

Sam opened the door.

"Hey, Sam."

"Are you two still up for the movie?"

"Sure."

Sebastian got up and they all three headed down to the family room. Kurt paused in the kitchen and grabbed a veggie tray from the fridge and then headed downstairs. Sam had put one of the _Transformers_ movies in and Kurt took the spot in the middle of the couch. They pulled the coffee table close enough to put their feet up on it. They passed the veggie tray back and forth and snacked during the movie.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After the movie, they all headed back upstairs. Sebastian enjoyed a thorough shower and one-handed massage in the shower courtesy of Kurt. Once they were in bed, he definitely enjoyed touching Kurt. He had Kurt's lotion and was massaging Kurt in all of the places that didn't hurt to touch.

"_Whatever gets decided is fine with me, mon étoile. We can stay home just the two of us next week and I'll enjoy that. We can go to a couple of places like we did that one day we went to the art museum and the rest of the time we can just be together. We enjoy each other's company. We can go on trips in the future."_

"_I know. I just don't want you to be disappointed. I still feel like it's my fault our plans have to change."_

Sebastian put the lotion back in the bathroom and got in bed and lay on his side facing Kurt. _"I have way more money in my bank account than I have ever had at once in my lifetime, even without working over spring break. I have more clothes, more things, and most of all, more than any of that, I have you. Spending spring break with you is going to be great, no matter what we do or whether we go anywhere or not."_

Kurt reached out for Sebastian and ran his thumb down his jaw. _"You actually mean that, don't you?"_

"_Absolutely. I've been to a lot of really cool places that one day I hope to get to take you to. I loved going. Don't get me wrong. But visiting someplace isn't as important to me as you are. I'd stay here with you in Lima rather than go back to Paris and be alone."_

"_Maybe you can take me someday. Maybe we can go when we graduate from college."_

"_Whenever we have enough money."_

"_Sounds like a good plan. Turn over. I want to try being the big spoon and see if we can get comfortable."_

"_More kisses first?"_

Kurt laughed. _"More kisses first."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The downside to the over the counter pain relief was that it wore off by 2:00 in the morning, Kurt carefully rolled over and took some more and went back to sleep, but not without disturbing Sebastian, who in his adorable sleepiness wanted more kisses to go to back to sleep. Kurt just laughed at his antics, kissed him, and snuggled back up. He woke back up a little before 6:00 and took more pills. He sat up in bed and watched Sebastian get ready to leave. Sebastian walked around to his side of the bed, sat down and kissed him one last time before leaving.

"_I'll be back Friday and we'll have 9 whole days together."_

_Kurt hugged him. "I'm looking forward to it. I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt lay back down, even though he knew he couldn't fall back asleep. He eventually got up and got ready for school. He knew that getting dressed took longer with the cast on his wrist.

He went downstairs to make breakfast and found Carole in the kitchen already.

"Good morning, honey."

"Morning. You don't have to cook for me, you know. I can still cook with the cast on."

"I know. I wanted to. And I wanted to talk to you anyway." She cracked eggs into the skillet. "Sausages? They're turkey and they just need warmed up."

"Sure." He sat down on a bar stool at the island.

"So, I talked to Burt."

"Alright."

"So, he looked at the Dalton schedule. They have a 2-day teacher in-service in April. He's going to have me call you out of school those two days. You and Sebastian can go to the Smoky Mountains those four days. You both just need to plan ahead."

"Okay…?" Kurt was confused by his dad offering to let him skip school.

"And for spring break, he wants to come home Friday night, while you and Sebastian head to DC. Then Thursday we'll fly out. We can have dinner and go to a movie together Thursday evening. We'll have Friday and all day Saturday together. You and Sebastian can fly back early Sunday morning and I'll stay in DC with Burt until Tuesday morning."

"Okay."

"He wants to spend some time with you during your break. I told you that he misses you. His plan has a little of everything he wanted. He visits home, he spends time with you, he spends time with me, and we all spend time there. It's fine with me as long as you're okay with it."

"I think so, as long as the tickets aren't too expensive."

"You only have to pay for one. He's got frequent flyer miles. He knows it wasn't your fault that you were injured. He wasn't thrilled with your original plan to work your whole vacation anyway. He wanted you to do something fun. A lot like what I was saying last night. There's a short time before you graduate and move on to having more responsibilities."

"You two are weird," he laughed. "What kind of parents of teenagers tell them to go have fun instead of work hard?"

"The kind of parents who have teenagers like you and Sebastian who already work really hard and who need some fun in their lives."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Are you saying that Sebastian and I are no fun?" he asked teasingly.

"I am sure you must enjoy being together or you wouldn't spend the entire 60 hours he's here each week joined at the hip or lips or wherever."

"CAROLE!" Kurt said scandalized.

She just cackled as he turned beet red from embarrassment. She put his plate in front of him and grabbed hers and sat down next to him. "Well, you have to think about what parents might think about their 18-year old putting a keyed lock on his door after he asks his roommate to be his boyfriend." She winked at him.

"Oh. Well, that wasn't why. Plus, I gave you a key."

"Which I keep on my keyring in my purse, which I would have to remember to get before I went upstairs…" she laughed.

"You're terrible," he groaned.

"You're the one wearing a ring you haven't told me anything about."

"They're promise rings."

"And that means?"

"It means that we're serious, that we're only seeing each other, exclusive, 'going steady'. That we love each other and we want people to know that we aren't available I guess. He's the only one with options at school. So, for him it will change how people see him, I suppose. Everyone will know that he's in a committed relationship."

"Why does that change how people see him?"

"Well, when he arrived, he created this persona for himself. He intentionally created a barrier between himself and the rest of the Dalton students. He had nothing and to hide that, he made himself this 'too hot to be interested in the likes of you' persona and made people who might be interested in talking to him believe that he was a player, but an adult player since he was already 18. He acted like being in an American high school was beneath him and that he was headed straight back to the high life in Paris as soon as the school year ended."

"I see. He kept people at arms' length to keep his secret from being discovered. It was easier to pretend that he was above the whole high school scene than to admit that he didn't have the money to go out to do something like go to the movies or go out for pizza."

"Exactly. So, by him wanting us to wear these rings, he's admitting to everyone that he's not that guy. He's being more honest about who he is, without actually saying anything. I hadn't actually thought about that aspect of it until you asked me. It's a big step for him. Of course, anyone who notices that I'm wearing a ring will think I'm just trying out rings as my next fashion move. Tina might be happy for me and maybe Quinn."

"Can I see?"

Kurt held his hand out.

"It's an interesting ring. Masculine, but not plain."

"I like it. It means something to us." Kurt looked at his hand, with a warm smile and bright eyes.

Carole smiled. "I'm glad you're happy. Blaine never made you happy like that."

"Well, that is long over and never should have started, but I learned from my mistakes."

"Well, that's the best that any of us can hope for because we all make them."

Carole's phone rang. She picked it up and answered it. "Yes. Alright. I'll be there." She put it back down. She grabbed both of their plates, rinsed them, and put them in the dishwasher. "I need to go get ready. That was Sue. She wants to meet in her office at 8:30. So, I guess I'll see you then."

"I wonder why."

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon enough."


	17. Chapter 17

Kurt sat through the beginning of first period attempting to pay attention and only partially succeeding. When it was finally 8:30, he headed for Coach Sue's office. When he arrived, Carole was approaching from the other end of the hall. He waited for her. She knocked and they waited for Coach Sue to respond, and then went in.

"Mrs. Hummel, Kurt. Please have a seat."

They both sat.

"I've called you here this morning to present the offer the high school that your assailants attend has made."

"Wait, you found them?" Kurt asked.

"Yes. I persuaded the stadium that if they let me see the security footage that I would pursue the school rather than the stadium itself. So, I was able to identify the school that the four students attend from that footage. I contacted the school and provided some stills from the video footage along with my intent to file assault charges against the students in question. They were quick to make an out-of-court settlement offer. Those four thugs are members of their still-in-the-running-for-state-champion-title basketball team. If I file assault charges, their school loses its potential for a state title. Here's the offer," she said as she handed a sheet of paper to Carole.

She held the page so that she and Kurt could both read it.

"Diversity training?" Kurt asked.

"The whole team will be required to attend classes on not being jackasses to minorities."

"Ah."

"$5000?" Carole asked.

"To cover Kurt's missed wages from being sidelined from work for several weeks and to cover his medical expenses. If my estimate is too low, we can counteroffer with detailed expenses."

"Signed statements from each participant that they will not seek me out in any way or the agreement is null and void and you will pursue assault charges? I like that. Good thinking," Kurt said.

"Well, I didn't want them to come looking for you. They're getting a heck of a bargain. They need to keep their end of the deal."

"It's more than I ever expected, which was nothing. No one here ever had anything happen to them for hurting me, except Karofsky being expelled for three days for threatening to kill me."

"The police in Lima consider bullying to be a school's problem. So, getting them involved here is practically impossible. But for another school district to threaten to file charges against students – that gets attention – the kind school districts don't want. So, is $5000 enough to cover your lost wages and the medical bills?"

"I'm not sure of the medical bills," Kurt answered. "Maybe Carole can go home and figure that out. I will work on the lost wages aspect. Can we give you the details by lunch or something? Is that soon enough?"

"I'm supposed to reply by noon. So, the sooner the better."

"I'll go home and see what I can gather. We haven't gotten bills in the mail yet. I'll have to go the hospital and doctor's office. I'll leave now and get back to you before lunch. Thank you for this. I know you tried to stand up for him last year and the school board wouldn't back your recommendation. This means a lot to me. Jean would be proud of you for this. Carole stood up. "I'll be back." She opened the door to leave.

"Stop. Please. You keep acting like you knew Jean."

She closed the door back before she spoke. "I did. Before I took the job I have now, I worked part-time to make extra money at the home where Jean lived. She was the sweetest, most caring person. I saw you with her long before you had any idea who I was. I was just another nurse in scrubs doing my job. But she loved you and you loved her."

Sue just nodded. Carole left.

"You can stay here and work on your lost wages while I go check on my class." Sue left as well.

Kurt got out a notebook and wrote out the hours that he had missed the previous week, the hours from the current week, and the following week. Coach Sue came back about 10 minutes later. Kurt had finished.

"Here's what is guaranteed that I've lost so far. If I'm not cleared to go back to work at my appointment the Monday after spring break, the total will obviously go up."

"You work a lot."

"I do. And spring break was supposed to be an exceptionally work-filled week. I was trying to save up for a trip after graduation, so I had taken on extra hours and given one of the employees the week off that he had asked for. He'll still getting the time off because I'm not going to take his family vacation away from him, but it will cause a back up at the shop because several other part-time people won't be in either. Hopefully, our customers will understand."

"How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?"

She nodded.

"I'm uncomfortable 24/7. And today I'm tired. I tried to sleep without the prescription painkillers last night. Physically, it's like being back in the fall of junior year, but worse because all of the injuries happened at the same time, so I'm really sore everywhere."

"The photos were bad and I'm sure they look worse now. That purple-green period is the worst."

"Yeah, my back is like that. My legs have reached more of the pale green stage. But my ribs hurt some, and sitting without touching my back to the school chairs is a strain on my ribs and it's very uncomfortable. I'm just ready for high school to end."

"I see that you have a new jewelry piece."

"Yes." Kurt smiled.

"He's a good guy."

"He is. Do you want me to return my uniforms and stuff?"

"No. You're still on the squad. Even if you can't perform, your name will be on the Nationals roster. Injured sports team members get benched, not kicked off the team. Maybe by mid-April, you'll be able to dance and sing with us. I know you won't be able to flip and probably not fly, which is a real shame because you are the best flyer we've ever had, and losing you hurts the squad. We'll just see. Obviously, you won't cheer at any games. You'll need to wear the uniform any time we have a pep rally."

"Alright. Do you need anything else from me? Like proof of the amount of money I make an hour or something?"

"Only if the other school requests it, which may happen since you make so much more than minimum wage."

"Certified mechanics don't make minimum wage."

"No, but most high school students aren't certified mechanics."

Kurt nodded. He grabbed his satchel and stood up. "Thanks for doing all of this for me."

She nodded and handed him a pass. Kurt took it and went to his second period class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt left at lunch and went to the shop to print out a pay stub to give to Coach Sue just so she'd have it to turn in with the rest of the information that Carole had gone out to gather. He took it to her office quickly and headed to his fourth period class.

In Glee, there was a lot of celebration about moving on to Nationals, followed by arguing about Nationals.

Kurt finally stood in the midst of the arguing and walked down front.

"Rachel, sit down."

She defiantly remained standing.

Santana pushed her shoulders down from the back. "Do what he says. Shut up too."

"If you are a senior or you have been in this group from the beginning, stand up."

Puck, Finn, Rachel, Tina, Mike, Brittany, Santana, Quinn, Mercedes, and Sam stood. Artie raised his hand since he couldn't stand.

"If you have been featured by singing more than a few of lines in a song, sit down." He grabbed a stool and sat down on it.

Puck and Mike stayed standing.

"Mike, you have been featured as a dancer several times and you've never been one to want vocal solos, and you have had solo lines. Mike nodded in agreement. I think that answers who should sing the male lead on either the duet or a male solo for an all-guys song like we just did at Regionals. I am aware, as is everyone else in this room, why Rachel thinks she should get the female lead on a duet AND a ballad solo. I don't think that's the route we should take. As we just saw at Regionals, we have the best line up of male vocals that we've ever had. We have a real bass – Rory. Our male voices have always tended to land in the baritenor and tenor section of the male range – mine excluded, but I can also sing in that range as you have all heard recently. We should chose a song that is either already in or that can be transposed into Puck's singing range without pushing him into his upper range where he loses his ability to sing out strong. He has a really nice voice and he deserves to be featured before we all graduate. So, I vote for Puck as lead male on a duet or lead male for an all-male song to counterpoint whatever the Trebletones will be singing."

"Thanks, dude," Puck said.

"All in favor of this plan raise your hand." Kurt counted. "That's more than half, by far. Motion carried. As far as I'm concerned, this issue has been decided and we won't waste any more time arguing about it. If Rachel wants to convince everyone that she should be the lead female for a duet, she is free to do so. She can also sing with the Troubletones. They gave her that option at Regionals and she turned them down. She has the same choice again. Rachel, if you want to be in two numbers, join the Troubletones' number."

Mr. Schue walked back to the middle of the room, but Kurt didn't leave and he kept talking.

"I'd suggest that each of us go home and find three songs that are upbeat, that have words can be understood, and that have more than one person can be heard singing with not too much in the way of electric guitars or loud instruments. If we want to win, our voices have to be heard. Bring the songs to class tomorrow and we'll start listening. Most of us are fed up with the drama of the arguing. We have one last competition together. Carole reminded me of something important over the weekend. Those of us who have applied to college have nothing left to prove. Nothing we do now will change whether we get into college or not. Early admission letters have already gone out. Regular admission letters will be sent out in less than a month. Nationals is in roughly 10 weeks. Those of you who did not apply to college have nothing to gain by doing well in this competition either. Our fellow Titans don't care. We are doing this for ourselves. Either this is fun or it's not worth our time. Think about that." Kurt went back to his seat next to Sam.

Mr. Schue spoke up. "Kurt's right, guys. Winning Nationals will not affect whether you get a job when you graduate. It won't affect whether you get into college. This is a Glee club. Quite a few of you seem to have forgotten the meaning of Glee. I have some ideas for songs, but I think Kurt's idea is a good one. Try to find three songs and I'll bring a laptop and Artie can hook it up so we can listen to the songs through some decent speakers tomorrow. We've already seen how stiff our competition is. The new Warblers' leadership and lead singer brought their 'A' game Saturday. We have every reason to believe that they will be rehearsing in earnest starting right after spring break."

"Because Kurt is feeding them information so that his friends and boyfriend can beat us," Rachel accused Kurt again.

"Oh, grow up Berry," Santana practically snorted. "What did he tell them? They didn't sing any of our songs. I mean it's hardly a secret how many of us there are, what parts we sing, and our usual lack of proper preparedness. I mean the worst he could have done is told them that we were actually preparing ahead of time this year. Oooh… such a help to a group that obviously rehearses all the time. Telling him that we were wearing all black? Telling him that the girls' dresses had red underneath? That the guys were wearing gold suspenders and bowties? They have to wear those dumb uniforms. How would knowing what we were going to wear help? Even if he told them our set list, what we were wearing, and when we started practicing – how would that help them stay on pitch and in rhythm or create good arrangements? They're a freaking a cappella choir. The only thing that makes them better is practicing more. Do you seriously think the other groups that will be at Nationals are going to show up like we did last year and write their music the day before and still be working on learning their choreography? Hell, no. We came in 12th, which shows that we have good voices. But come on. We need to start rehearsing. The Cheerios, minus Kurt because of his injuries, have already started practicing for Nationals. If we want to win, we need to have a set list by the end of this week. We need the arrangements done by the end of the week after spring break and we need to start working on the choreography the beginning of that week. The Troubletones will be. I can guarantee it. And Kurt's right, Dwarf. You're still free to join us, but you'll sing the soprano harmony, just like Tina sang the back-up second soprano part and Quinn sang the back-up alto part at Regionals. You three were not original members and won't be featured. We haven't chosen our featured singers yet, but more than likely it will be me, Mercedes, and Britt again because we're seniors."

"Thank you, Santana," Mr. Schue said forcefully, indicating that she should take a seat and be quiet.

Kurt spoke up again. "If we start rehearsing right after spring break, that will give us 8 weeks to work on our pieces. If the girls rehearse Monday before school, the guys could do the same since I can't attend the Cheerios tumbling practices any time soon. We could rehearse the group number on Monday and Thursday afternoons. We could rehearse the guys' song and girls' song a second time on Wednesday afternoon. That would still leave us Tuesdays and Fridays to have fun learning about music and singing songs for fun. We don't have to turn in to automatons to do well. The two weeks before Nationals, we could use the extra two days to work on the whole set and finalize the costuming, singing the pieces as a set. We'd end up practicing each song for 16 rehearsals, plus the run-throughs, while still having time to horse around and learn stuff."

"Kurt, you made some more good points. I'll consider the schedule you've suggested. You all have your assignment. You're free to stay and work on it or you can leave."

Kurt looked at Sam and he nodded. They got up and headed out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"If it's okay with you, I'll just drop you off and come back for you later. I feel like going out and wandering around for a while."

"Sure. Are you okay?"

"Mostly. I'm just sore and I tried to sleep without the prescription pain meds last night and I didn't really sleep well, but I don't want to go home and fall asleep right now."

"Pick me up at close, okay?"

"You got it. I know you haven't wanted to share what's going on with me, but did talking to Carole help? She's a good listener."

"Yeah. I still just have a lot of decisions to make soon. It just feels like too much sometimes."

"I get that. Especially if all of the decisions have equally difficult to predict outcomes."

"That's pretty much my issue. It's just one of those situations where none of the outcomes is a guaranteed successful choice and no one can make any better predictions than I can. It's just really stressful."

"I get that. High school is this predetermined path with just a few options, and then, BOOM, we're expected to make life-altering decisions in a few short months that are based on research, not real life experience. It's super stressful. But don't shut me out all the time, please? I was so excited when you came back. But the last month and a half, it's like you're here, but on the other side of a glass wall or something. I can see you, but we're never actually together. I was glad you watched a movie with us the other night."

"I'll do better. I promise. I'm sorry."

"I already forgave you. I'm not angry. I just miss you, doing things with you besides homework. I brought the Wii up and thought we'd play more, but we haven't."

"Me, you, and MarioKart soon."

Kurt smiled. "Okay."

Kurt pulled up and Sam hopped out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt pulled into the lot at Goodwill and went inside. He was mostly just wandering, like he told Sam. He picked up a couple of picture frames that caught his attention and put them in his cart. He found some blank cards he thought would be good to use as thank you cards or any occasion. He saw a miniature metal Eiffel Tower replica and wondered if Sebastian would like it. He decided that for 99 cents it was worth a shot.

He wandered over to the men's clothes and shoes section. There were a lot more short-sleeved shirts than there had been the last time. He looked through them and found a couple he thought would look good on Sebastian that were the half-off color. He found some brown leather hiking boots that looked like they had never been worn. Perhaps an unwanted or ill-fitting Christmas gift? He tried them on. They were a little long, but seemed comfortable. He put them in the cart too. He found one pair of shorts as well.

He moved on to the jackets. He wished he could just give Sebastian one of his jackets since he had so many. But he was pretty sure that anything he had that would fit Sebastian wouldn't suit him for everyday wear. He found a dark Levi's denim jacket that had been broken in well, but had a lot of life left in it. He tried it on and it fit through the body, but the sleeves were a little long, which made it perfect for Sebastian. It would look good with button ups or t-shirts. He put it in the cart. He also found a pair of khakis he'd try on to see if they'd fit Sebastian.

Next he looked through what seemed to be about 100 t-shirts. He found a couple of high end solid v-necks and a burgundy short-sleeved henley.

His last stop was the bags section. He wanted to find a nice small canvas satchel for their trip – something not too attention grabbing, but really functional, with lots of pockets. He sorted through the whole section and found three potential options. He inspected each one carefully, and, even though it was uncomfortable to do, he put each one on to see how it hung and whether the strap would be long enough on Sebastian. In the end, he went with a dark brown canvas mini messenger bag that could be washed and had lots of interior pockets and zippered compartments.

He got in line and paid for everything. It came to $35 and he was happy with his finds. He'd see if Sebastian liked the stuff and he'd bring it back if he didn't. It was only 4:30. He could make it to Westerville before 6:00, stay until 8:00 and head back, but Sam needed a ride home and Carole was at work, so that wouldn't work. He decided to go home and call Sebastian, text him photos, and see what he liked. The boots would just have to wait until Friday.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt laid the items out on his bed and took photos so he'd have them ready to send. He put the little Eiffel Tower on one of Sebastian's shelves, along with the new picture frames. He was planning to use them for new photos of them from their spring break trip.

He folded everything up and put it back in the bags until later. After he found out what Sebastian did and didn't like, he'd wash the keeper items. He had checked the forecast for the next week in DC and it was supposed to be in the 70s a few days, chillier a couple and even warmer one day. He was planning to pack all of their clothes Wednesday and Thursday.

He got his homework out and got it finished before he left to go pick Sam up.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt warmed up the pizza. He and Sam ate together and Sam scurried off to get started on his homework. Kurt headed upstairs excited to call Sebastian about his finds.

"You're calling early."

"I'm excited."

"What about?"

"I went shopping."

"Without me?" he said pouting.

"For you."

"Really? What did you get? Wait, don't text me pictures. Send them to me in messenger and then I can look at the pictures on my laptop and see them better."

"Okay. I just sent the shirts."

"Give me a minute to get my laptop open. I just got out of the shower."

Kurt harrumphed.

"What was that for?"

"I missed the shower."

Sebastian laughed. "I'm opening Facebook. Those are nice. I like them."

"Really? Please be honest. I can return them. I really want you to like your clothes from now on."

"Really. I do like them."

"Okay. Here's a pair of shorts and khakis."

"Those are nice. I like those too. Lots of pockets."

"Alright. I found these hiking boots. I know we'll have to see if they're actually comfortable on Friday."

"Those are nice. Have they even been worn?"

"Not that I can tell."

"I hope they fit. Is that it? I like all of it."

"Nope. There are two more things."

"A satchel? I have one."

"This one is canvas and much smaller than your school one. It's for our trip. We can pack a lunch in it and a bottle of water and a few things. It's about the same size as my smaller blue one."

"Oh, okay. I like it. It looks functional and I'm sure you inspected it thoroughly."

"I did. And the last thing is this."

"Ooh. I LIKE that. I hope it fits. I always wanted one of those. It's even a Levi's one. Way out of my price range."

"Well, I got this one for $5."

"Good price. I really hope it fits."

"I think it will. It fits me except the sleeves are a little long."

"Well, I approve of your shopping. Did you have fun?"

"I did. I miss you, but I had fun looking for stuff for you. You can have any of my dressier jackets that fit whenever you need one. How was lacrosse practice?"

"Way too cold for me. That's why I was in the shower again. I was to try to warm up. I showered after practice and redressed, but I was still freezing even after eating dinner, so I got back in the shower in my room and just stood in the warm stream of water. If I had a tub, I'd soak in warm water."

"Make sure it's worth it to you, like Carole said. I got all bossy and long-winded in Glee this afternoon. I just took charge and gave a speech. I couldn't take one more word of Rachel accusing me of helping the Warblers by giving you information. Santana knocked her down a peg or two as well."

"Good."

"Carole asked about my ring at breakfast."

"Is she upset?"

"Not at all. She was teasing me terribly though and made me blush big time, but she likes to tease and it was all in fun."

"Jeff and Nick noticed at breakfast too. They congratulated us. I saw other people notice throughout the day, but no one else said anything. I figure it's spreading around the rumor mill."

"So, what do you figure the gossip is?"

"Let's see. You're a gold digger. Or that you managed to tame the Parisian manwhore. Or that I'm playing you to get you to sleep with me. Or that it's just a ruse to get you to sleep with me while I'm still a Parisian manwhore. I'm figuring that any of those are possibilities."

"Until Carole asked me about it this morning, I hadn't considered the consequences for you wearing the ring. I hope people don't say mean things about you. If they do, don't listen. I love you. And you know that none of those things you just said are remotely true."

"I know. And I love you too."

Kurt explained the plan for spring break and they talked for a little while longer before Sebastian had to go to his tutoring session.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday evening, Sam did his best to beat Kurt at MarioKart, but did not succeed.

"I need to get one of those MarioKart guidebooks to find out some super secret special trick or something. You always win."

Kurt just laughed. "We can play something else. Wii Bowling? Or Donkey Kong Country? That one's fun. We can play as a team rather than competing against each other."

"Put that in. We haven't played that one in a long time. Those mine levels are killers though."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday afternoon, Kurt was waiting in the entryway for Sebastian when he arrived at the house. Kurt was so happy to see him that he practically jumped him when he walked in the door. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's waist and kissed him. "Hang your coat up. You won't need that coat this week. Hurry up and follow me, we don't have a lot of time."

Sebastian was laughing as he was being pulled up the stairs. "This would be easier if you let go of me so I could carry my suitcase more easily."

"Oh. Sorry." Kurt dropped his hand.

As they entered the bedroom, Kurt said. "Hurry up and change. I laid an outfit out for you." Kurt unzipped Sebastian's suitcase and added his clothes from it to the larger wheeled suitcase that Kurt had been packing for them.

Sebastian changed quickly.

"The boots are there." Kurt pointed next to the bed.

Sebastian picked one up and put it on and laced it up. "So far, so good." He put the other one on and got up. He walked around the room. "They seem fine. Right size. Comfortable."

"Good. Keep them on."

"Timberland? Is that a good brand?"

"Over $100, maybe $150 retail. Here. Try the jacket."

Sebastian turned his back to Kurt, who was holding the jacket. He slipped his arms in. He fastened the front and went to look in the bathroom mirror. "It's perfect."

"Good. Let me see."

Sebastian came out of the bathroom and pretended to walk the catwalk for Kurt.

"Very sexy. I like."

"Talk about sexy. I've never seen the leather jacket and are those studded boots?"

"Well, they're not spiky, so I think they'll be fine through security. And I had them in the closet. I haven't had them out since before I went to Dalton. I think I last wore them sophomore year."

"Well, they're very hot."

"I told you I used to dress differently than I have lately."

"Yes. You showed me the skirt and the kilt, but I had only seen leather pants, and that was just the once. I think maybe we should go through the rest of your clothes when we come back. You can give me a fashion show." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Sure." He walked toward Sebastian and kissed him and backed him into the edge of the bed and Sebastian sat. Kurt straddled his lap and continued to kiss him. "I will model anything I own for you." He came to his senses. "But… we have to go." He stood up. "Where's your camera?"

"In my satchel." Sebastian stood up adjusting himself.

Kurt opened it and got it out. "Do you want your laptop?"

"Not really."

"This book?"

"Yes."

"Anything else that you can think of that was here at home?"

He looked in the closet. "All my stuff is packed it seems."

"Let's go then. We're supposed to be at the airport at 7:00. It's 4:50. Carole already left and is waiting for us at the shop. Your ticket is in the zippered pocket on the back. So, is your American passport." Kurt helped him slip the satchel over his head.

Sebastian wrapped his hands around Kurt's waist. "I've forgotten just one thing."

"What?"

He leaned in and kissed Kurt gently. "Thank you. You worked really hard to have this all ready for us." He kissed him again. "I love you. Let's go." He turned around and grabbed the larger suitcase, sat it on the floor, and pulled it toward the door.

Kurt followed him out the door, locking it behind them. They headed down the stairs. Kurt checked all of the doors while Sebastian put the suitcase in the trunk. Kurt stepped out the door after he set the alarm. They got in the car and drove to the shop.

Once they got to the shop, Sebastian moved the suitcase to Carole's trunk.

"Did we leave Sam's suitcase at the house?"

"No, he had it in the Navigator and took it into the shop with him when I dropped him off on the way home. He's leaving from here as soon as he gets off."

Sebastian nodded and shut the trunk. They got in Carole's backseat together and set off for the airport.

While they were driving, Carole explained how the car service worked and Kurt double-checked that he had the right number to call them if there were any problems, like the flight being delayed. He had already put Carole's key to the apartment on his keyring when they were waiting for Sebastian.

Sebastian and Kurt looked through her book and talked about different places to visit on the rest of the drive. After Carole dropped them off, she headed out for dinner with her friend while waiting for Burt's flight to arrive.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian and Kurt got in line to check their suitcase in. Once they had gotten that done, they went straight into the ticketed passenger area. As soon as they had made it through security, Kurt took Sebastian's hand.

"Let's go look around. We need to eat something at some point too. But first…" Kurt led him into a restroom and looked under the stall doors as they walked past. He pulled him into the handicapped stall and put his index finger up to his lips. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's waist and leaned in and kissed him for a couple of minutes. He let him go and motioned for him to step outside the stall.

Kurt closed it back. Sebastian went in the next stall. He exited the stall after he had finished, and washed his hands. After Sebastian washed his hands, Kurt grabbed his hand and they left the bathroom in search of place to eat.

"Well, that was an unusual trip to the bathroom," Sebastian teased.

"I missed you and I'm still a little leery of public restrooms."

Sebastian squeezed his hand. "It wasn't a complaint. I missed you too."

They walked along the concourse looking at their options.

"Ooh. A Brooks Brothers. Let's go in and look. I like some of their clothes."

They went in and looked around. Kurt grabbed a couple of hanging items and went to the dressing room. Sebastian followed him. Kurt didn't let go of Sebastian's hand and pulled him in with him.

Sebastian stepped close and whispered directly into Kurt's ear. "Are you going to try those on?"

Kurt shook his head and walked Sebastian backwards until he was up against a real wall and kissed him breathless.

After catching his breath, Sebastian whispered in Kurt's ear again. "Some kind of fantasy fulfillment?"

Kurt smiled and shook his head and kissed Sebastian again. This time he was the one to whisper. "I just really missed you and this seemed like a safe place to kiss you again." He leaned in and just nuzzled into Sebastian's neck.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt gently since he knew he was still sore. Something was wrong, but the dressing room wasn't the place to find out. He just held him close.

After a couple of minutes, Kurt pulled back and gave Sebastian one more quick kiss and he stepped back to grab the clothes he had brought in with them. He hung them at the exit to the dressing rooms and started looking around the store again. He pulled Sebastian over to a basket of clearance socks. "I love the fun socks. Let's get some. I've looked at them tons of times online, but never ordered any."

They looked through the basket and picked out four pairs and got in line. Kurt paid for them and put the small bag into his satchel. The employee thanked them and they left.

"You'll wear them too, right?"

"Sure."

"Good. I've always thought it would be fun to get some, but they're normally like $24 a pair."

"That's insane."

"I know, which is why I didn't have any, but those were over 85% off. We got four pairs for $12."

"They still seem expensive still, but they're fun. And it is a vacation, right?"

"Yes. They're fun and useful. Let's go eat. What are you in the mood for?"

"A place we can sit and talk."

"Well, Carole gave me $20 for dinner. So, let's find the coziest place we can eat for $20."

"Max & Erma's looked like we could get some privacy."

They were seated quickly. They opened their menus. The waitress came and took theirs order a few minutes later. Kurt ordered the Tortilla Burger and Sebastian chose the French Onion Burger.

"So, what's going on?" Sebastian took Kurt's hand under the table and pulled it into his own lap.

"Well, I got called to Coach Sue's office during last period. She had finally gotten all of the paperwork from the settlement. I signed the paperwork. She gave me an envelope. I opened it. The settlement check was in there, but there were also four handwritten letters. Two of them were fairly insincere apologies along the lines of 'we're sorry we got caught', one seemed to mean it as far as being sorry I was actually injured badly instead of just scared enough to drop out, and the last one just said that he was sorry he had been the look out, which was confusing. Anyway, it was just weird. Carole went with me to the bank after school and she deposited the check and withdrew the part that was for my lost income and I put it in my savings account. I still don't know whether I will be able to go back to work with lifting restrictions after spring break. At least I won't lose any more money, if I can go back."

"It was all resolved quickly, but you don't actually seem pleased."

"Oh, the settlement is fine. I'm just a little shaken because I don't have any more of the prescription pain pills. I took the last one Tuesday night. So, I've woken up the last two nights with nightmares again."

"And I wasn't there."

"It's not your fault. Not at all. It's just exhausting and nerve wracking."

"Well, we have 10 nights in a row where I'll be with you. Hopefully, they'll stop soon."

Kurt squeezed his hand. "I'm really excited about that. I've never been on a vacation before like this. My dad and I used to go camping in the summer for a weekend or two, but he was always so busy with the shop, he never had a whole week off just to take a vacation. This is my second time on an airplane, just like you. We flew to New York last year for Nationals. This year, we're taking a school bus to Chicago." Kurt paused and took a drink. "You haven't said anything about lacrosse."

"The team roster went up this morning and my name is on it. So, I made the team. I'm just not as excited about it as I thought I would be and I'm not sure why. The team vibe is just different."

"Well, you can think about it over break. If you change your mind, someone who didn't make first string, or whatever it's called in lacrosse, will be glad to move up."

"That's true. I know everything doesn't come down to money, but I guess I keep thinking that if I have 6 free hours a week in my schedule each week, I could take on more tutoring clients. I have to buy cleats. I borrowed Jeff's this past week when we played outdoors. Plus, every weekend that I have a game, I lose around 8 hours of pay at the shop. So, it's just a lot of money to lose. Plus, it's like backing out of doing the job I agreed to do."

The waitress brought their food to the table. They thanked her and started to eat.

"Well, you can think about it this week. The money isn't everything, but if you're not having fun, then it may not be worth joining the team. I certainly won't think less of you if you don't or more of you if you do."

Sebastian took a bite of his. "This is good."

"So is mine."

They swapped bites now and then and tried each other's soups. They focused on eating because they needed to move to the boarding area soon. Once they finished, Kurt added $5 of his own money for the tip and left it in the folder the waitress had left their check in.

They headed to the boarding area to wait for their flight number to be called. They sat down next to each other. Sebastian put his arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"Oh, there's a surprise for you in your bag in the small zipper compartment inside."

"Should I look?"

"You can if you want."

Sebastian pulled his arm from behind Kurt and opened the zippered pocket. "You got me another SD card?"

"I did. I wasn't sure how much space you had left on the one you have in your camera and I didn't want you to have to erase any of your photos to take new ones this week."

"Thanks. You are awesome, you know." He put it back in the pocket and zipped it shut. He put his arm back around Kurt's shoulders. "I'm not hurting you am I?"

"No. Actually, a lot of the pain has eased up since Monday. I got this bruise cream and it seems to be helping."

"Well, that's good. That will make this week even more fun. I'm excited too. It's kind of like Paris with all of the museums and historical stuff. I already chose my research paper topic for US History. I'm writing about historical documentation and preservation of artifacts. I picked the topic this week. I figured going to the museums and the government buildings would be good research, even if I can't use it specifically in the paper."

"Dad's going to take us and show us his office and around the Capitol Building, so that should be cool too – to get to see where he works and maybe some of what he's been doing."

"That will be cool. I'm writing a compare/contrast essay on the structure of the French government and the US government for my US Government final paper. I'm trying to get a head start on them, so I got my topics approved ahead of time. I know that there will be a lot of Warbler stuff to do around the time the papers are due, and if I go ahead and play lacrosse, there will be practices and games."

"Good idea. I wish McKinley gave out full semester syllabi at the beginning of the semester. That is one thing I definitely miss. Sometimes it seems like our teachers make it up as they go along. I'm going to ask though. If we have to write a paper, I'd like to get started on it ahead of time too."

Their flight number was called for boarding to begin. They stood up to get in line. They weren't seated together on the flight because the tickets hadn't been purchased at the same time. They stood hand in hand in line and down the tunnel hall to the plane door. Sebastian let Kurt step in front of him in hopes of keeping anyone from bumping into Kurt since he was still banged up.

Their seats were a few rows apart. Kurt took his seat and Sebastian walked on down the aisle a few rows. Sebastian was in a window seat. A middle-aged woman sat down next to him. "Once everyone's in, I'll go trade spots with your husband," she said quietly.

Rather than get into a discussion about how they weren't married, Sebastian just thanked her. She kept her word and when the flight attendants started paying attention to the next group of boarding passengers, the woman got up and quietly spoke to Kurt. He stood and gave her his seat and walked back and sat down next to Sebastian. He took Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers. The woman glanced back and winked and nodded slightly. Kurt smiled and nodded back.

"That was sweet of her," Kurt said.

"It was. She thinks we're married, but I didn't bother to correct her. She was being so kind."

"She must have seen our rings when we were sitting together waiting."

"I'm not going to correct people, unless you want me to. It doesn't bother me if that's what people think. If it's someone we know, sure, I'll say something, but complete strangers, I'm just going to let it go."

"That's fine. I guess the strangest part to me is that I'm used to everyone assuming that I'm like 14."

"Why? You don't look 14 at all. That would be all kinds of creepy to date a 14-year old."

"I guess because people have always teased me about my baby face and the fact that I can't grow a five o'clock shadow in less than a month and that's barely more than the mustache part."

"I have some facial hair, but not much. I can't grow a decent beard either. But you definitely don't look 14. Maybe your so-called 'friends' are just being jerks and playing on your insecurities."

"Probably. Santana likes to call me 'Baby Gay', 'Prancy Smurf', and 'Lady Lips', amongst other things."

"She gets off by tearing other people down. Just ignore her. People like that can't stand being ignored."

"She did take my side against Rachel though, which helped. Rachel wanted the lead female part for a duet and the ballad solo. I countered with an all-guys song to counterpoint the Troubletones song, just like Regionals. She didn't like being in only one song at Regionals, but she was offered a place with the Troubletones, just like Tina and Quinn, Rachel's not a very strong dancer, so she didn't join them. Her lack of dance skills is going to bite her in the butt sometime soon. She is a very good singer, but to be a stage performer, she needs to be a better dancer."

"We're back to working on the piece we were working on for Regionals that we had to drop because it didn't fit the theme, but so far we haven't been notified of any theme for Nationals."

"Neither have we. I certainly hope they don't wait a month and then tell us."

"Surely not."

Kurt shook his head. "I really hope not."

"I went to the council and suggested the dual lead for Nationals and they presented it to the group as their idea. Blaine was thrilled. He won't be doing the choreography though. He's a little slow on the uptake when it comes to that as well."

"Which is probably why Wes was so opposed to my ideas to do more complicated choreography. He was totally a Blaine fanboy."

"We'll have to work on something for him to do that looks good, but is easy enough for him to do without looking like he's concentrating on the dance steps."

"Flirting with the audience is his main skill set when it comes to being the front man for the group, but in a large auditorium that is a lot harder to pull off without the ability to make eye contact."

"You said that without the least bit of sarcasm."

"Oh. It's true. No need to be sarcastic. He's a huge flirt. He doesn't see it. Doesn't make it less true. But it is definitely a benefit to him in a small performance venue. Not so much in a giant auditorium."

"Are you singing a solo this time?"

"No. I got my chance to shine. I had the duet with Tina at Sectionals and I had the solo at Regionals. It's someone else turn." Kurt ran his thumb over Sebastian's index finger, gently stroking it.

Sebastian slipped his thumb down and began tracing patterns on Kurt's palm, causing him to smile.

Kurt closed his eyes for a few minutes. When he opened them Sebastian was looking at him with a relaxed smiled on his face.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, I was just going through my list in my head. I sprayed the boots you're wearing. I retreated my Vans, my satchel, and your new one with canvas waterproofing spray, like the kind we use on our tent. I packed all of the clothes and a surprise for you in the suitcase. I moved your Vans along with all of the clothes from your suitcase into the bigger suitcase. Just running through everything I had on my list for the trip."

"I'm sure you had a checklist two pages long. You're very thorough and I appreciate all of the effort you put into the trip. I'm excited."

"I just hope I didn't forget anything."

"If you did, I won't be upset. I promise. You worked really hard on it."

"Thanks."

"Thanks for treating the boots and my bag. I like this bag. It's a good size for personal use. I know you carry yours around all the time. I might like carrying one. I've never had much to carry around, but like you said a lunch, a book to read, and my camera. Maybe a notebook to write things in would be a good addition."

"We can pick one up somewhere, I'm sure."

"And I really love this jacket." He leaned closer and whispered in Kurt's ear. "And I like yours too, but I told you that at home. But it is a really hot look on you." He kissed Kurt's neck and sat back upright. "I never figured you for a frayed-jeans-with-holes-in-them style, but it looks good on you."

"They're old. I used to be a bit stockier before my growth spurt and I wore these to the shop to work in or to do yard work in. I found them in the closet when I pulled the jacket and boots out. I tried them on and they fit. They had stains on them, but I treated them and scrubbed them and got them out. They're super soft and broken in and fit a little looser without being sloppy. I thought they'd be comfortable."

Sebastian slid their hands onto Kurt's lap and ran his thumb along one of the areas where Kurt's skin was barely showing. He leaned over and kissed Kurt's neck. "And enticing."

Kurt blushed and let go of Sebastian's hand to pull the guidebook out of his satchel. They looked through it for the rest of the flight. Sebastian took advantage of the book covering the top of Kurt's leg and slid his index finger into the frayed slit in Kurt's jeans and caressed his thigh. They hadn't made it all the way through the book before the end of the flight.

Kurt thanked the woman as the exited the plane. She just nodded and smiled. They headed down to the baggage claim area. After they picked their suitcase up, they found the man from the car service that was picking them up, and they headed to the apartment.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt put in the security code and unlocked the door. He flipped the light switch, stepped back and held the door open for Sebastian to pull the suitcase through, and then relocked the door behind them.

"We're here," Kurt said.

"We are." Sebastian kissed him quickly when he turned back around from locking the door.

"Let's look around. Dad gave me his grocery app password yesterday and I put in everything I thought we'd need. Supposedly it was delivered this afternoon before he left." Kurt walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, the freezer, and then the cabinets. "It looks like it's all here."

"That's a cool service."

"It is. Dad didn't want us to have to try to navigate our way around to find a grocery store and have to bring stuff back. He figured the delivery charge was less than a taxi ride from wherever we would end up shopping. Let's go figure out which room is the guest room, get unpacked, shower, and go to bed or at least lie down. We both know that I'll wake up about 6:00, and it's already after 11:00."

"This is the guest room. It's smaller," Sebastian said. He took the suitcase into the room and put it on the bench at the end of the bed and unzipped it. He handed clothes to Kurt, who quickly put them on hangers in the closet or put them in the closet or left them folded and put them in the dresser drawers.

"I see you've found your surprise." Kurt turned around and saw Sebastian holding a storage container of cookies.

"I did. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'll go put them in the kitchen." He came right back with his mouth stuffed full.

Kurt laughed at him. "Good?"

"Dee-fwi-shus."

Kurt slipped his jacket off and hung it in the closet as well. He zipped the empty suitcase and put it in the end of the closet, then sat down on the bench to take his boots off, which he also put in the closet. "Ready for a shower?"

"Sure. The cookies are great. What kind are they?"

"Snickerdoodles. I'm glad you like them." Kurt carried their toiletries bag into the bathroom and emptied it onto the counter and in the shower.

Sebastian followed him in after he had taken his jacket and boots off. "Can I?" Sebastian reached for the buttons on Kurt's shirt.

Kurt nodded.

Sebastian unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. "The bruising on your chest is nearly gone. Turn around." He could still see the distinctive lines of that the paper towel/trash can unit had made on Kurt's back. "Your back is better."

"It is. Regular painkillers do the trick for letting me move around. There's one spot you can't see that has completely healed up this week."

"Oh, really?"

"Mmm hmm." He turned and stepped close enough to Sebastian to start unbuttoning his shirt. Only, instead of just unbuttoning it, he added kissing down Sebastian's neck and chest as he went. Once he got the shirt off, he moved his kisses to Sebastian's mouth and didn't take long before he licked his way in. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's shoulders and kissed him with nearly two weeks of built up passion. "I love you. You can wash me this time. Everywhere." Kurt stepped back and turned the shower on and finished undressing and got in.

Sebastian's brain reengaged and he quickly undressed and got in the shower.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian and Kurt had towels wrapped around them and they were brushing their teeth and moisturizing. Sebastian got finished first and moved behind Kurt and wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"I don't see any pajamas."

"Well, that's because I only brought some for the nights my parents will be here." He turned and kissed Sebastian. "We can lay some out on the dresser like we do at home, in case we need them during the night for some reason." He kissed him again.

"Mmm."

"If we're cold, we can go take the blanket from the other bed and wash it before they get here. Dad said there's a small stacking washer/dryer combo in the closet in the kitchen."

"Ready to get in bed then?"

"Definitely, but first can you put the cream on the bruises on my back."

"Of course."

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The next morning, Sebastian awoke to the smell of bacon cooking. He slipped his pajama pants on and went out to the kitchen to find Kurt plating pancakes, bacon, and eggs. He walked up behind him and kissed him on the back of the neck. "That smells and looks fabulous."

"Let's eat it then." Kurt handed Sebastian both plates and he took them over to the small table. Kurt poured two glasses of juice and carried them over and sat down. "So, today we'll head down to the Washington Mall and start our museum tours?"

They started eating while they were talking.

"Definitely. We're going to be here long enough to see most of them I think. We're going to the US Capitol Building on Friday with your dad and Carole."

"He got us passes or whatever to see the chamber rooms, which will be really cool. We can sit and watch what goes on for a while and maybe eat lunch with him."

"I know that day we'll have to play it by ear because his schedule isn't predictable. But we've got 6 other days to visit places. We'll do whatever your parents want to on Saturday since it's the only full day we get to spend with both of them."

Kurt looked at the DC Metro map on his phone. "So, we'll take the bus to the subway and get off at L'Enfant Plaza. We need to look at the weather again and pick the warmest day to go to the zoo."

Sebastian leaned toward Kurt and offered him a kiss, which he returned.

"Thanks for making breakfast. It's really good."

"You're welcome. I ordered stuff that we can pack to take with us to eat so we don't spend a fortune eating out. Not that we can't go out at all, but I figured with it being such a touristy destination that the restaurants in the Mall area would all be really pricey. After we eat, we can wash up the fruit and vegetables and cut stuff up and pack it. I ordered peanut butter to make sandwiches. I know it's kind of boring, but that way nothing has to be refrigerated."

"It's not boring. It's practical. I'm sure you ordered other more interesting stuff we can cook for dinner."

"I did."

They finished eating and Sebastian washed the dishes and Kurt dried them and put them away. Kurt pulled out the vegetables from the fridge. He looked around the kitchen and then turned the oven on. Sebastian looked at him questioningly.

"I don't see a toaster, so I'm using the oven. Toasted bread makes better peanut butter sandwiches because it doesn't get soggy so easily."

"Good to know."

They washed, dried and cut everything up and put it in ziplock bags and put it all back in the fridge. Kurt washed and dried two apples to pack as well. He pulled the toasted bread out of the oven and turned it off. Once the toast cooled, they made their sandwiches and put them in the fridge too.

"How about a short snuggle and then we'll get dressed and head out?"

"Sounds good to me."

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They left the apartment and walked toward the bus stop. Kurt stopped abruptly and made Sebastian stumble a bit because they were holding hands. Sebastian turned to look at him.

"A notebook? I bet we can get one in here." Kurt opened the door and they went inside. He asked the cashier and she directed him to the correct aisle. "I have a pencil in my bag you can use."

Sebastian picked out a half-sized notebook with a super stiff back. They went to the front. Sebastian paid for it, stuck it in his bag, and they left.

"Thanks for remembering."

Kurt squeezed his hand and they walked the rest of the way to the bus stop. They didn't have to wait long. They sat next to each other and Kurt kept hold of Sebastian's hand. The ride to the Metro wasn't long. They got off and went down the stairs and waited for the next train to arrive. They took a selfie while they waited. It was Kurt's first subway ride. The subway trip was a little longer than the bus ride, but it was smooth and no one seemed to pay any attention to two teenage boys holding hands. Once they got to the L'Enfant Plaza stop, they got off and went up the stairs.

"We need to walk about two blocks that way," Kurt said and pointed.

They walked until they reached the National Mall area, walking past the west end of the Air and Space Museum.

"It's huge," Sebastian said, as they stood looking up and down the whole area.

"It is. Let's start with the two closest museums today. It's supposed to be a lot warmer the rest of the week. It's pretty chilly out today to spend a long time walking outside."

"So, the American Indian Museum first, then the Air and Space Museum?"

"Yeah. Let's leave the Botanic Garden for Friday. Maybe we can go there with Carole for a while when Dad's working."

"Okay."

They walked down the sidewalk and started their day in the American Indian Museum, where they spent a few hours before taking a break for lunch.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt pulled his sandwich out and started to eat it. "It's really strange to try to envision a time when people were so focused on a particular task. I know it hasn't been that long when you look at it on a timeline, but it's just strange."

Sebastian started to eat as well. "There's more of it going on in Europe than you have here. School tracks diverge in lower grades. People our age don't usually take such a wide range of classes. That's why I'm taking so many extra classes to be able to graduate on time. I wasn't in a humanities track. Plus, US History, American Literature, and US Government aren't required French classes."

Kurt laughed.

"It's not that I lacked credits to graduate this year, but they were not divided appropriately for an Ohio Diploma. Four years of English, three years of social studies, etc. I have a lot more math classes than I need and things that only count as electives because there's no Dalton equivalent that meets any of the core requirements."

"So, high school is more like college here, as far as choosing a major?"

"It's more general than college, but more specific than high school here."

"I can see benefits to both systems. I still think it would be weird to spend my childhood training to be a potter, and then spend my whole adult life making pottery. No requirements to take physics or pre-calculus. I can see how that would have made it a lot easier for someone with a disability in a way because whatever they could do, they could do just that and still be valued member of society."

"I hadn't thought about it that way, but I see your point. Here in the US, someone who can't learn to do higher level math could be excluded from ever going to college even though they might be a really good playwright or a fantastic composer."

"It would be cool to have a time machine and the ability to understand what was being said and see how a pre-industrialized society worked. Were people happier back then? Because I see a lot of unhappy adults in modern society. Maybe they were stressed out about different stuff, but equally stressed out."

"Looking through all of those artifacts makes me wonder what a lot of them were for. They don't seem to have a purpose, but they were obviously important for some reason. Were they purely decorative? So many questions."

"It seems like it would be really boring to do the same job your whole life, but maybe if your place in society wasn't based on how much money you had or how big your house was or what you looked like or who you love, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But there's no way to really know how their society worked because by the time any settlers learned to communicate with them well enough to learn any of that stuff, they were being forced to change their ways. That's why a time machine with an ability to speak and understand every language would be so cool."

"I'm glad that docent agreed to let me interview her and record our conversation. I'll be able to use some of what she said in my paper for sure."

The finished up eating while enjoying the conversation and headed to the Aviation Museum.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They stopped in the gift shop right before closing and Kurt bought a postcard. Sebastian slipped it into his notebook along with the one that Kurt had bought earlier. They made their way back to the Metro station after they left the museum.

"That was absolutely amazing and makes me feel like a ginormous coward," Kurt said.

"Coward?"

"You saw those planes. I wouldn't get in one of those and try to fly. I would be scared out of my mind to try something like that. There was seriously no way they could know they would even land without killing themselves."

"I see what you mean. I guess I see it as them having an enormous amount of faith and self-confidence that their ideas would work."

"Either way, it's amazing that individual people made such huge contributions to basically the entirety of modern society."

They continued talking until they got on the Metro.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got back to the apartment, Kurt headed into the bedroom, hung his jacket up and took his boots off and headed back out kitchen and washed and dried his hands. Sebastian followed behind him and did the same, and then he wrapped his arms around Kurt loosely from behind.

Kurt turned in his arms and looked up and kissed him. "So, are you going to help me or be a distraction?"

"Both?"

Kurt laughed. He kissed him again and slipped out of his arms. He started pulling items out of the refrigerator and sat them on the counter. They washed, sliced, chopped, and cut up everything. Kurt poured some oil in a skillet and heated it up. While he was stir-frying everything, Sebastian got plates out and sat them next to the stove. He set the table with drinks and cutlery, just waiting for their plated food to be added to sit down and eat, which they did just a few minutes later.

"I like this," Sebastian said.

"It's pretty good considering there's not much to flavor anything with here. I didn't think to add any spices to the shopping list. I'm used to those types of things just being in the cabinet."

"I didn't mean the food, although I do like it. I mean us, like this. I'd never really eaten meals with anyone until I moved into your house with your family. My mother was home some of the time, but even when I was young, she didn't make meals for us. We didn't sit down and eat together like this. There were a few meals at my father's after I came to Ohio, but those were very stuffy and not enjoyable at all. After I stayed at Christmas and moved in with you, I started eating meals with people and always with you. I like it."

Kurt took his hand. "Me too."

"I know we talked about it a while back, but you haven't mentioned anything in a long time. Do you still want to live together after we graduate? I know we're still waiting to see if we can both get a waiver, but…"

"I thought it was all settled. I thought we had decided we were going to get an apartment together. Or live on campus together if we can't get the waiver. You didn't change your mind did you?"

Sebastian used his other hand to wipe his eyes. "No. I was afraid that you had."

Kurt stood up. "Slide your chair back a bit." Kurt waited for him to do it. He straddled Sebastian's lap and sat down facing him. He took both of Sebastian's hands in his and held them between them. "I want to live with you. I'm sorry that not talking about it anymore gave you the impression that I had changed my mind or that I was doubting our choice. I just considered the decision made. I'm glad you asked instead of continuing to worry." Kurt leaned forward and kissed Sebastian gently. "I love you."

"Of course you do. I'm a very lovable kind of guy," he smarted back grabbing Kurt's butt and leaning up to kiss Kurt again. "I'm sorry I let it get to the point where I was really worried. I'll do better and ask sooner the next time I'm concerned about something."

Kurt put his forearms on Sebastian's shoulders, crossing his wrists behind his neck. "I know trust takes time. Everyone else has let you down. It's natural to feel like I'm going to do the same at some point. I'm not perfect, far from it. But maybe in time that feeling that I'm just playing you or that someone is going to pull the rug out from under where you're standing will go away. I can't promise that I'll never do something that hurts you, but I can promise that I won't ever do something to intentionally hurt you. I can be really bitchy in an argument. I have been known to intentionally sabotage someone – specifically Rachel."

Sebastian laughed. "I'm sure she deserved it."

"Yeah, well, still not one of my finer moments, but it was a couple of years ago and I have grown up since then. I mean I know we are both still young and we'll make mistakes. We just have to talk. Like this. But I know I can be cutting with my words. I'm working on blunting my sword tongue."

Sebastian laughed again. "I'm betting that full-on bitch mode is quite the sight to see, as long as I am not the one on the receiving end of the tongue lashing."

This time Kurt laughed. "It's generally Rachel. She's such a diva and so self-centered. And now she's my sister-in-law." Kurt dropped his head.

Sebastian gently lifted Kurt's chin and leaned forward to kiss him. "I can be sullen and sometimes cutting too. I told you that if we weren't together I would surely have attacked your sense of style just to dig at you and get under your skin to knock you down a peg or two off your happy, flaming gay pedestal."

Kurt pulled back, shocked. "Is that how you see me?"

"No, but I knew that dressing the way you did wouldn't have been widely accepted in backwoods, Ohio. If I had seen you as the potential enemy, I would have used words to attack and knock you off balance."

"Attacking my insecurities."

"Yep. It's a good offense maneuver – make the enemy defensive. It keeps them from planning a good offense."

"In all honesty, I would have hit back with words as well. I'm sure the two of us could have an epic bitchfest at each other if we were on opposing sides of something. Your words were like a good uppercut and knocked my head back on straight." He laughed and leaned in to kiss Sebastian again.

"And you befriended me for it."

"Which was a really good decision on my part."

"Mmm." Sebastian moved his hands to the top of Kurt's shirt and started unbuttoning it and started kissing Kurt and licked at his lower lip.

Kurt pulled back. "I'm all for this, but let's at least finish eating."

"If you insist," he smarted back.

"I do. This all started with you saying how much you enjoy eating meals with someone."

"You're right. I did. And I do, especially with you."

Kurt kissed him one last time and stood up and sat back down in his own chair and started eating again. "The next weekend you're home, we'll do some more serious apartment research. We had narrowed it down before, but we can look through other areas if you want. I'll be going back to Cincinnati the first Sunday in April. We can both go and set up actual appointments to view apartments as soon as my acting lesson is over. We can get real details on when leases need to be signed and stuff like that."

"Okay."

"When is the 2-day in-service Carole told me about?"

"The last Thursday and Friday in April. I'll have to look at my phone or a calendar for the exact dates, why?"

"Because my dad is calling me out of school those two days so that we can go to Gatlinburg then since we missed out on going because of me getting hurt."

"Really? Your dad, the congressman, is going to let you skip school to go on a trip with me?"

"Yep. I know. He's transformed, well, maybe just evolved like a Pokémon. He's always been a super cool dad, but he was stuck in parenting a pre-teen or young teen mode for a few extra years. It's finally caught up to him that I'm 18."

"I didn't really know him during the previous incarnation, but the current one is really cool. He really loves you."

"I know. I'm a lucky son. He cares about you too, you know?"

"I'm getting that. It's slowly making its way into my brain. You're going to turn me into a touchy feely sap."

"You like touching and feeling."

"That's true, at least about you. You're very soft and sexy."

Kurt had to readjust himself. "Eat," Kurt laughed. "No more of that talk at the table," he teased.

"You started it."

Kurt stuck his tongue out.

"Is that an offer?"

"Sebastian!"

He just laughed. "You are really cute when you get flustered."

"Eat." Kurt stuffed a bite of stir-fry in his mouth.

Sebastian picked up a bite and ate it and then licked his forked very suggestively.

Kurt closed his eyes.

Sebastian laughed again. He reached over and took Kurt's hand and interlaced their fingers. "You're not mad are you?"

"No." Kurt opened his eyes and saw that Sebastian looked legitimately concerned. "We're just teasing each other. I really, really want to kiss you, but I was trying to finish dinner first, but my pants are quite uncomfortable at this point and I'm struggling. I've never had most of these feelings and urges. It's just a lot. I love you. Please don't change how you're acting. No one has ever thought I was sexy. It's just overwhelming."

"Well, the fact that you grew up in Hickville is the cause of the lack of guys chasing after you. It was a concerted effort on the part of Sam and the Warblers I brought with me that night to keep you from being manhandled at the club. You were too busy paying attention to the fact that we are all acting silly to notice the guys that were oogling you."

"Oh. I probably would have thought they were looking at you or one of the other guys."

"You've been conditioned to think that you're undesirable, but you're really sexy."

"I'm glad you think so." Kurt finished up what was left on his plate and stood to take his stuff to the kitchen.

Sebastian ate what was left on his plate quickly and made it into the kitchen before Kurt came out. He sat his plate and stuff in the sink and pulled Kurt to him and held him carefully.

Kurt relaxed into his embrace. "I didn't mean to make everything all weird. I like the flirting and the teasing. Being near you, it's like being set on fire. It's just all so new. Don't stop okay?"

"Okay. If it makes you feel better knowing, being around you made me figure out what that song 'Fever' was describing."

Kurt stepped back and moved toward the kitchen door. He started snapping his fingers and swaying his hips. He turned around and walked backwards, and then he starting singing.

_Never know how much I love you_

_Never know how much I care_

_When you put your arms around me_

_I get a fever that's so hard to bear_

_You give me fever_

_When you kiss me_

_Fever when you hold me tight_

_Fever in the morning_

_Fever all through the night_

Sebastian left the dishes and followed Kurt, who continued to sing the rest of the song while undressing. As soon Sebastian got close enough for Kurt to reach him, he switched to undressing Sebastian. Once all Sebastian had on was his underwear, he continued with his strip tease for Sebastian. By the time he got to the "what a lovely way to burn" at the end of the song, he was undressed down to his underwear as well. He gently pushed Sebastian back onto the bed and started kissing him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Twenty minutes later they were in the shower, still touching everywhere.

"You know every time I hear that song from now on, in my mind I'm going to be rewatching you do a strip tease for me while undressing me."

Kurt laughed and kissed him. He whispered in his ear, "I'll make good on the 'offer' a little later." He pulled back and ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "I don't think either of us has the stamina for a third time just yet." Kurt reattached himself to Sebastian's lips for a very passionate kiss.

When they broke for air, Sebastian said, "Offer? Oh. Mmm." He smiled and waggled his eyebrows. "I accept your offer."

"Let's rinse and get out. It's too early to go to sleep, but we could just cuddle naked and talk."

"I like naked cuddles."

"Of course you do."

"I'm pretty sure that I'd like naked anything with you."

Kurt dried his back and Sebastian rubbed the cream on Kurt's back while kissing his neck. He stepped away and Kurt brushed his teeth and threw his towel at him. Sebastian turned around and swaggled his tush where Kurt could see the whole time he was drying himself. He hung both towels up and brushed his teeth, still dancing around.

"Get in bed, you goof."

"I think you mean 'sexy man.'"

"That too. You're a handful." Kurt shook his head at Sebastian's antics.

"I beg to differ. I'm certain that you are aware that I am more than a handful."

"Bas! Bed!"

"Fine, fine." He left the bathroom and got under the covers. "But you love it and you know it."

Kurt got in and snuggled up to him. "You're right. I do." Kurt kissed him. "I love you."

Sebastian pulled him close. "I love you too."


	18. Chapter 18

The week flew by quickly. They enjoyed every bit of their time together and grew closer to one another. Kurt came out of his shell completely. Sebastian soaked up the love Kurt offered and dropped his guard. They spent their days exploring DC and the museums and ideas, and their evenings exploring each other. They spent the entire week in nearly constant contact, somehow touching – full body or just fingertips.

Thursday afternoon, Kurt put in the code and unlocked the door and they stepped inside. Sebastian had him pressed to the door as soon as he had locked it from the inside. He was licking his way into Kurt's mouth, when they heard a male clear his throat behind them.

Sebastian stepped back and tried to compose himself. Kurt stepped around him. "Dad, you're here early."

"We caught an earlier flight. Carole's in the bedroom freshening up."

Kurt laughed. "I see." He felt Sebastian turn around behind him. He stepped back and reached for Sebastian's hands and pulled them around his body and stood steadfast, not allowing Sebastian to stand there mortified. "We should do the same. And then what are the plans?"

"Dinner and a movie as far as I know, unless someone changed the plan and didn't tell me."

"Alright. We'll change into something a little nicer, grab our jackets, and be back out in a few minutes." Kurt dropped Sebastian's hands, but stepped to the side and grabbed Sebastian's hand again to walk side by side to the guest room.

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Sebastian changed his shoes and shirt quickly, grabbed his jacket and picked his bag back up. He went back out to sit in the living room to wait for everyone. He was met by Burt, who was already sitting on the loveseat.

"You really love him?"

"I do."

"Carole told me about the rings too. You two are serious, aren't you?"

"Yes."

Burt took a breath, paused, and let it out. "His mother. God, she was like an all-consuming fire and I fell for her hard and fast. We met when we weren't much older than the two of you. A couple of years, but if I had met her earlier, she would have had the same effect on me."

Sebastian nodded, eyes flashing in understanding.

"All I ask is that you treat him right. He has obviously let you closer to him than he ever has anyone else. Just don't abuse that trust. He doesn't give it easily, or ever before to my knowledge. I don't know what happened with Blaine, but I know he broke whatever amount of trust Kurt had extended to him."

"He did."

"So, you know?"

"I do. I would never hurt him on purpose."

"That's all I can ask for. And as for earlier, don't worry. I'm not going to do anything. You two didn't know we were here. I should have texted one of you to let you know that we had caught an earlier flight. I'm not even sure what went on at the airport, but they needed volunteers to board an earlier flight and we were already there."

Sebastian just nodded.

"If he makes you feel the way his mother made me feel – God."

Sebastian laughed. "Yeah."

"She could look at me from across the room and set me on fire."

Sebastian blushed.

"Uh huh. I can imagine. He is so much like she was, but the world has tried to beat a lot of it out of him. She just shined. I see it in his eyes again now that you've been in his life. It had gone out a few years back. I knew things were bad, but not how bad. I know a lot more now, even thought he doesn't know that I know. Last fall, I pressed Finn into telling me the truth of what went on the first couple of years in high school after I figured out that Finn hadn't told me the complete truth about a few things. And I'm sure Finn didn't know all of it."

"Probably not."

"You know, don't you?"

He nodded.

"Well, don't be too concerned about what I saw earlier. I've been there. Just try to keep it PG in the common areas."

"No problem."

"Sure, it isn't," Burt laughed.

Carole came out of the bedroom. "I'm ready. Where's Kurt?"

"Primping in the bathroom, I'd imagine," Burt said.

"I'll go get him," Sebastian offered.

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"Kurt?"

"In here. I had to wait for Carole to leave before I could come in and get my stuff."

Sebastian walked toward the bathroom. "Are you close to being ready? Your parents are both ready now."

"Okay."

Sebastian stopped and leaned against the bathroom doorway. "If you're worried, don't be. Your dad's not upset. He basically just gave me a pep talk."

"Really?"

"Really. The only thing he asked was that I not hurt you or abuse your trust."

"Oh."

"And I told him that I wouldn't because I love you." He stepped into the bathroom and gently wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"You told my dad that you love me?"

"Mmm hmm," he mumbled as he pressed his lips to Kurt's. He stepped back, "Let's get going."

Kurt finished the last swipe of the mascara brush he needed and put the cap on the tube. "Will it embarrass you?"

"What?"

"The make up."

"Oh." He looked Kurt over. "No. It looks good. Are you ready?"

"Just grab my jacket."

Kurt had changed his shirt and shoes already. Sebastian grabbed Kurt's jacket off the bed and opened the door to their room and went back out into the living room.

"He's coming."

"I'm here," Kurt said a few seconds later. He took his jacket from Sebastian and put it on. Once he had it on comfortably, he reached for Sebastian's hand.

Burt got up. "Then let's head out. The car service got here five minutes ago."

Sebastian and Kurt went out the door and headed for the elevator, walking hand in hand. Carole and Burt followed behind them. They talked about all of the places they had been during the week on the ride to the restaurant and all through dinner.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They were standing outside the restaurant waiting for the driver to pull up.

"Should we have the driver take us to the nearest theater? I don't even know what's playing," Carole said.

"Do you have the TV in the apartment hooked up to Netflix?" Kurt asked.

Burt laughed, "You haven't turned it on all week, have you?"

"No."

"It has Netflix. Is that what you want to do?"

"Sure. We can all go back and put our pajamas on and get comfortable," Kurt said. "And you can pick the movie."

"You're sure about that?" he teased.

"I'm sure. You won't pick something horrific. Carole's with us," he teased.

Burt rolled his eyes.

The car pulled up and they got in. Burt asked to be taken back to the apartment.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I'll make some popcorn and you two can go ahead and shower. I know you shower at night. Burt and I will shower in the morning."

"Okay."

Kurt and Sebastian went in their room and shut the door and undressed.

"You first, or me?" Sebastian asked quietly.

"I don't want to go alone," Kurt pouted.

"Your parents can hear the shower. Do you really want them to know we're in there together?"

"Um. We can turn the water off for a minute or two in the middle." Kurt bit his lower lip nervously.

Sebastian laughed. "You win. You're too cute to say 'no' to." He pulled their pajamas out and carried them to the bathroom.

Kurt already had the water running and was stepping in.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian sat down on the couch together. Burt was looking through the choices and finally chose a James Bond movie. Kurt got up and turned all of the lights off. He went in their room and grabbed a pillow and brought it back. He pulled Sebastian up, put the pillow on the couch, lay down on his side, and patted the space in front of him. Sebastian balked a bit, but Kurt was insistent. He lay down and they wiggled around until they were both comfortable and could see the TV.

Carole scooted up against Burt. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. She pulled her feet up onto the love seat and snuggled up tight against him. They snacked on the popcorn during the movie.

No one moved when the movie ended.

"What time do we need to be reading to leave in the morning?" Kurt asked.

"At 7:00. Traffic is bad early in the morning and I want to show you all around a little bit before I head into session at 10:00. I thought you all might hang around watching for an hour or two and then go out to lunch and go to the Botanic Garden like you mentioned. The Senate isn't meeting, but you can still go in and see the room."

"Alright, 7:00 it is. We'll be ready."

Sebastian got up and Kurt grabbed the pillow and followed him into their room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt tried to get comfortable, but hadn't quite managed.

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Clothing between us. I don't like it. The door locks and we can lock the bathroom door from this side."_ Kurt sat up and pulled his shirt off, locked both doors quietly and finished getting undressed. He put the pajamas on the bedside table.

Sebastian took his off as well and lay back down. _"Better?"_

Kurt scooted up to him and lay on him and got comfortable this time. He tipped his head up and kissed Sebastian gently. _"Definitely. I'm spoiled now."_

"_Me too. Ten weeks until school's out. Then I can stay at home with you every night."_

Kurt kissed him again, and then laid his head back down to go to sleep.

"_Goodnight, mon joyau."_

"_Sweet dreams, mon étoile."_

"_When you hold me – always."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt woke up at 6:00. Sebastian was still asleep. Kurt turned over in his arms and put his hand on the side of Sebastian's face gently and drew his thumb across Sebastian's lip, which caused him to smile, but not open his eyes. Kurt gently kissed him. "Good morning, Bas." Kurt kissed him again and this time Sebastian responded and kissed back and turned on his back and pulled Kurt on top of him.

"I hear the shower running, we should take advantage of your parents being distracted by getting ready."

Kurt rolled his hips and deepened the kiss.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Forty-five minutes later, they exited the bedroom and sat down at the table to eat.

"You boys are in a good mood," Carole teased.

"We've had a fun week," Kurt said.

"We have. It's been really cool going to all of the museums and visiting the zoo was cool. The pandas were fun to watch."

"I liked the sea lions a lot. They were really active."

"We're looking forward to the Botanic Garden. Kurt said he's never been to one. I've been to a couple in Paris. That's one thing I did manage to do was see almost all of the really cool museums. Students get in free, so they were always a great place to spend time during the summer. Maybe some day we can save up and we could all go. I'll give everyone the grand tour."

"That would be really amazing, Sebastian. I'd love to go someday," Carole said.

Burt came in and sat down and started to eat. "The car service will be here in 15 minutes. I just got the reminder text."

"Well, we're ready except for finishing breakfast," Kurt said.

"We're looking forward to seeing the Capitol Building. Thanks for getting us passes."

"I'm excited to get to show you around."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they first arrived, Burt took them to his office. He introduced everyone to his aide and had him take a few photos of them together in his office. Burt showed them around the office areas. They headed back into the Capitol Building and looked around for a bit and then headed into the House Chamber to watch the session for a while. It was called to order, and then dismissed just a few minutes later, which was disappointing to all of them.

Burt texted Carole and they met outside the chamber.

"I'm going to get my aide to take the four of us on the tour he gave me when I first got here. We'll go through all of the exhibits and areas. Then we'll eat lunch. I still need to work this afternoon. The three of you can go to the garden and we'll meet back up later."

They walked to the atrium to meet up with Burt's aide. He took them on the full tour, which they enjoyed. Once they were done, they spent a little more time in the Exhibition Hall relooking at things that interested them individually. Burt ran into a few people he knew and talked to them while the other three looked around.

They headed to the Capitol Café and ate lunch together before Carole, Sebastian, and Kurt left to go tour the gardens. They started out together, but Sebastian stayed back at some point when Carole pointed something out and Kurt went to look. They listened to one of the guides explaining about the life cycle of the flower and how it was pollinated in an unusual way. Kurt realized that Sebastian hadn't followed them and as soon as the guide quit speaking, he told Carole he was going to go find Sebastian.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt sat next to Sebastian on the bench he had been sitting on for a while.

"Is the view that good from here?" Kurt looked in the direction Sebastian had been staring.

"Oh, I actually had quit looking. I was caught up in my thoughts."

"Good thoughts, I hope." He reached over and took Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers.

"Too good. Strangely good. The kind of good that make me wonder if I'm in a coma imagining things."

"Oh?"

"You weren't standing close enough earlier to hear, but when someone came up to your dad when we were looking around in the Capitol Building after the tour, he pointed us out to the person. He said, 'Over there looking at that painting is my son, Kurt. He's heading off to college in the fall to study in one of the top musical theatre programs. And over on the other side of the room, in the blue shirt, that's my wife, Carole. And the kid in the burgundy shirt there, that's Sebastian, my future son-in-law. He's heading off to college to study something in finance this fall. We're really proud of him. He got a scholarship and everything.'"

Kurt could see the tears that were about to fall. Sebastian wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"And then earlier, in his office, he got his aide to take pictures of his family so he could print it and put it on his desk. And when I tried to step to the side, he kept me from stepping away and posed the two of us on the arms of his desk chair so we'd all fit in the photo more easily."

Kurt squeezed his hand.

"Do you want to talk about it now or look around and talk about it later?"

"Later. Let's go find Carole. The idea was to spend time with her, not get caught up in my thoughts and sit by myself. I didn't mean to make you have to come look for me. I saw where you two were. I was going to join you, but then started thinking."

Kurt pulled Sebastian's hand to his mouth and kissed his knuckles. "I love you. We can talk whenever you want."

Sebastian stood up and they looked around and spotted Carole and went over to where she was and spent the rest of their time looking through the gardens together.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got back to the apartment, Kurt and Sebastian washed up and went in the kitchen to make dinner for everyone. He and Sebastian had nearly perfected the art of cooking together in a small space during the week. Burt and Carole sat at the table talking to them while they cooked. At various times, Burt would look at Carole or she would look at him and they'd smile at each other nearly laughing at seeing the two boys move in and out of each other's space like a complicated dance. Neither of them was dictating to the other what to do. They had some unspoken division of the tasks that worked for them.

In less than an hour, all four of them were sitting at the table enjoying the dinner.

"You two are something to watch," Burt said and laughed. "You'd be a good pair if they had team cooking shows."

They both smiled.

"I really like the chicken," Carole said.

"I'll send you the recipe. I like how it's really rich tasting, but it's not high in calories. And it goes well with the asparagus."

"It really does and I don't even like asparagus much," Burt said.

"I know, Dad. But I did make sliced potatoes au gratin because they're your favorite to make up for the nasty green vegetable," Kurt teased.

"I've eaten more green vegetables in the last year and a half than I had in the previous 10 years."

Sebastian laughed at the two of them, and then said, "Sorry." And tried to keep from laughing.

"Don't be sorry, Sebastian," Carole said. "When I first started spending time with the two of them it was like _Freaky Friday_ all the time. I'm glad I have someone to laugh with me now."

Sebastian laughed again.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Well, his blood pressure's better, his cholesterol is in the normal range…"

Burt interrupted him. "We know. You're a good caretaker. I just didn't want to listen before. I like burgers and fries and pizza and beer. I'm learning to like asparagus. I'd like it better if it tasted like pizza."

They all laughed.

Carole said, "After dinner, we can play some card games. I packed a few from the family room and brought them with me."

"Sounds fun," Kurt said. "Maybe I'll teach Sebastian how to play Euchre when we get back home and then the four of us can start playing."

"That would be fun," Burt said with his eyebrows raised indicating that he thought he and Carole could beat them.

"It will be when we beat the two of you," Kurt said staring right at Burt and smirking.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Carole spoke quietly. "Just don't bet against Kurt in poker."

Sebastian tipped his head inquiring about her statement.

"Kurt learned to play when he was 8. He played against the guys at the shop. He used dimes. They used dollar bills until he started beating all of them. Then they made him use quarters, and he still cleaned them out. Once he got to be about 12, they made him play evenly. They funded a good portion of his wardrobe exploration and expansion in middle school."

Kurt finished the story, "Then they decided we should just use poker chips. Spoilsports. And they didn't lose that much money, Dad. I only bought a coat I wanted."

Sebastian laughed.

"They put a dart board in the employee lounge and taught him to throw darts. He had a lot more free time than they did because he wasn't old enough to work legally. So, unfortunately for them, he got really good at it while they were changing the tires and working. He played several of them until they caught on and wouldn't play him for money anymore."

"Not my fault they were gullible."

"You had such an innocent face, you conned people at the bowling alley too."

"And here I thought you were such an good kid," Sebastian laughed.

"I was. I never lied to anyone. They just made false assumptions about my skill level."

Sebastian and Carole laughed.

Carole said, "You just maximized your potential earnings by looking adorable and harmless."

"Pretty much. It only worked until about junior high anyway." He stood up and started clearing the table.

"I'll help," Carole said. "You and Burt can go pick what to play."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian followed Burt into the living room.

"I heard what you said earlier in the Capitol Building."

Burt turned and looked at him.

"When you were talking to someone and the rest of us were looking around. You told him I was your future son-in-law and that you were proud of me."

"Yeah. I meant that."

Sebastian looked nervous. "Thanks."

"It's true. I AM proud of you. You work hard. You're a good person. You treat my son right. I'm proud you're part of our family." He stepped closer to Sebastian and pulled in into a bear hug. At first Sebastian just froze, but then he let himself be hugged. "I'm glad your part of the family. You remember that. Got it?"

Sebastian nodded. He went back to looking through the card game choices.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I need to ask you a favor. It's huge and maybe impossible."

"Alright," Carole said. "That sounds ominous."

"Oh, not really," Kurt laughed. "Sebastian's first lacrosse game is next Thursday. In order to get there on time, I'll have to skip last period and Glee. The only thing I can think of is to fake sick next to last period and try to get the nurse to let me go home."

"I get it, honey. It's important to you to be there for his first game. I'll think about it."

"I know it's selfish of me, but I kind of wish he'd not play. But that's not really what I want. I'm just frustrated that he'll only be home half of the weekends starting next weekend. The lacrosse games are on Saturday afternoons at 4:30. So, he won't come home."

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think about when the games would be. He hasn't shown me a schedule yet."

"They play either 2 or 3 games a week. Tuesday, Thursday, and every other Saturday at 4:30."

"I see. That makes it tough for you to get there in time. What if you just go to Dalton every other weekend and stay with him?"

"You'd let me?"

"Kurt, it's not a matter of 'letting you'. You're 18. You can do whatever you want. We just like to know when it's something different than what you normally do, so we have some idea of what's going on in our 3-ring circus."

Kurt smiled. "I'm going to ask him."

Sebastian was sneaking up behind him and then realized what a bad idea that would be. "Yes," he said before he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes to whatever you were going to ask me," he teased.

"That's awfully trusting of you. What if I asked for…all your money?" he teased as he leaned back into Sebastian's embrace.

"I'd give it to you. I'd figure you must really need it for something very, very important because you practically never ask anyone for anything."

"He gotcha there, honey," Carole laughed. "Has the game been chosen?"

"It has. I ceded control to Burt because I have never played any of those games. But he has assured me that his choice is easy to learn. I'll help Kurt finish. You can go ahead and set the game up wherever we're going to play."

"You're just trying to shoo me out of here," she laughed and walked out of the room.

"She's not wrong about that." Sebastian turned Kurt in his arms and kissed him gently. "What did you need to talk to me about?"

Kurt put his arms around Sebastian's neck. "I want to come stay with you at Dalton the weekends you have lacrosse games."

"You beat me to my surprise," he laughed, and then kissed Kurt.

"What surprise?"

"The surprise that I already got you a pass for the Friday and Saturday night of my first Saturday game. I wanted to make sure we could still be together for the weekend, if I decided to join the team."

Kurt kissed him. "Thank you. I was bemoaning how much I didn't want you to miss out on playing, but I didn't want to miss out on seeing you half the weekends for the rest of the school year."

"We'll have to squish into my small bed."

"Half the bed is empty anyway because we're always lying on each other or close to it."

"That's true." He kissed Kurt, pulling him closer with arms slung low around Kurt's waist and his hands wrapped around Kurt's butt.

Burt walked in. "What did I say about PG-13?" he laughed.

"Sorry, Burt. I don't know where else to put my hands."

"Right." Realization dawned on Burt's face. "How's your back looking, bud?"

"Go out in the living room and I'll show you. It's too crowded in here for all three of us."

They stepped out and Kurt unbuttoned his shirt and turned away from the three of them and let it slide off his shoulders and down his back. He turned around and said, "The front is looking a lot better. There's just faint bruising left."

"The front does look a lot better. How are your legs?"

"They're better too. Most of the punches were to my chest. The guys holding me kneed me and caused most of the bruising below the waist. I gained a new appreciation for padded dance belts that afternoon. It could have been a lot worse."

"When you go back Monday, make sure to ask if there's anything that can help the bruising on your back," Burt said. "Ice, ointment, anything."

"Carole and Sebastian have been putting a special ointment on it already." Kurt buttoned his shirt back up. "I see that UNO has been chosen. Let's play."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they had showered and had been lying in bed together for a while, Sebastian shifted a little and ran his hand along Kurt's arm. "Is it okay if we move a little and face each other instead?"

"Sure." Kurt moved back a little, giving Sebastian room to roll onto his side and face him.

"I just want to make sure that you know that I'm really happy. Happier than I ever have been and when I get in little freak-out modes like I did at the gardens, it's not because I'm unhappy, it's because I'm overwhelmed. It's a lot really fast. A lot of good, amazing, fantastic, and somewhat unbelievable changes have happened so quickly. Sometimes, I have little freak-outs and I have to make myself believe that it's all real because it all seems too good to be true."

Kurt ran his thumb across Sebastian's cheek and reached down and took Sebastian's hand.

"My life 7 months ago was absolutely nothing like my life is now. The only thing that's the same is that I'm me. There are no other similarities. Back then, I woke up each morning in a small room with virtually nothing in it that was mine. Different students that had rented the room had decorated, leaving posters behind or photos, but nothing was really mine, except a small stack of journals that I had written stories in over the years. I'd buy a new one when I had filled one up. I wrote in English, mostly to keep my mother from being able to read it easily. I kept them hidden under the bed. Anyway, I was living in a metropolis, speaking French everyday, scraping together money working – the last couple of years, finally able to work a real job making much better money. That's how I got the camera and the SD card. I bought the nicest one I could afford right before I went back to school a year ago, junior year in American terms. But everything I owned besides my coat, could fit in a duffle the size of the one my father had given me. So, having so little when I came here was just a continuation of how things had been. Sorry, I keep losing my point. So, I was living in a tiny flat or boarding school, in a metropolis, with virtually nothing, and no friends or family that cared, and I scraped by for 18 years. And 7 months later, I have everything I ever wanted. And it's overwhelming. And sometimes, it just feels like I fell asleep watching some American movie and I've inserted myself and rearranged the details and any minute I'm going to wake up in the flat in Paris, lying on the couch in front of the TV all alone again."

"I can see how that would be really disorienting – for your life to be basically flipped on end and end up absolutely nothing like it was before, even if the way it is now seems amazing. It's so opposite that it doesn't feel real."

"But at the same time, it feels absolutely real and it's exactly where I want to be and I don't want to lose it because I can't bear to go back to being so alone."

"I think it will just take time, Bas. It's a lot to have happen. If I'm ever pushing you, just let me know. I will give you whatever you think you need. Time apart, space, less touchy-feely-ness, more time with me, no space, more touchy-feely-ness. If you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you. Whatever you need."

"Being near you, even just being able to see you makes everything feel more real because the feelings I have for you are like nothing I have ever felt before, so it's like I can't possibly be imagining that because how could I imagine something that strong? I'm not sure that makes any sense."

"It does. While the entirety of my world has not been turned on edge, one part has and that's you. When I see you look at me and your eyes light up, this energy just runs through me that I can't explain. It's not something I could imagine. I can't even properly describe it. And when you touch me, God. It's amazing, beyond description. So, I can't say that I know what you're going through, but I do understand how something can be so much better than you could have possibly imagined that you know you can't be imagining it – as weird as that sounds."

"So, when I was having my little out-of-body weirdness at the gardens, and you sat down and you held my hand, that grounded me. It brought me back to my reality and out of the haze of feeling like I was dreaming everything. Today it might have been because I had been somewhere similar in Paris. So, maybe it was just a flashback of being in the garden in Paris alone. But when you touched me, it put everything back the way it should be in my mind."

Kurt scooted forward just enough to kiss Sebastian gently. "I love you."

"I know you do. You show me all the time." He kissed Kurt. "I love you too."

"Do you want to try to go to sleep?"

"I'd really just like to touch you, but if you're tired, we can go to sleep."

"I am tired, but never too tired to turn down being touched by the man I love. Let me turn some music on 'cause I'm pretty sure that I can't keep completely quiet. And I know you won't either." Kurt kissed him and turned over and started a jazz playlist on his phone. He rolled back over and lay on his back. "I'm all yours."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, the four of them were up and out early. They headed down to the Mall area and went to the last museum on their list, which was the Museum of American History. They had saved it for last because it was the one they thought Burt would enjoy the most.

They went inside and realized that part of the museum was being remodeled, but they toured the sections that were open and enjoyed themselves. They had a late lunch in the museum restaurant and they made a quick stop in the gift shop to grab a post card. They left the museum and walked toward the Lincoln Memorial.

"I really liked that transportation section," Burt said. "I love seeing the old cars. I'd love to get my hands on one someday."

"Maybe when we come back, they'll have reopened the renovated sections of the museum and we can see Julia Child's kitchen," Kurt said.

"I know you used to watch her cooking shows a lot."

"I learned a lot from her," Kurt said.

They walked past the Washington Monument.

"Next time, if we plan in advance, I can get all of us tickets for the White House Tour. A week's notice wasn't enough. It takes three weeks to get them."

"Maybe next fall sometime," Kurt said. "Or late this summer before school starts."

"That could work," Carole said. "We'd just need to do a lot of coordinating."

"We could get tickets for the Washington Monument too," Burt said.

"There are a lot of things to see that we didn't see this time. We just went to the major museums. There are so many things in that book, we could spend a month here and probably not see everything," Sebastian said.

"I'm going to start going to one or two of them each time I come stay with Burt. So far, I've mostly just relaxed while he was gone because I've worked so many shifts in a row to get a few days together off. But if I start planning in advance, I'm hoping to get here and not be so tired. It's a shame to come to a city with so many cool places to visit and sleep instead."

Seeing the World War II Memorial caused all of them to stop talking. They walked around quietly. They walked down the reflecting pool and viewed the Viet Nam and Korean War memorials before they reached the Lincoln Memorial.

"The memorials are really well done, but they're heartbreaking. Why do people have to be so awful to each other?" Kurt asked not expecting an answer.

Sebastian squeezed his hand.

Kurt wiped tears from his eyes. "Let's go back to the zoo. It's still open."

"Sure, kiddo. The zoo it is." He pulled out his phone and texted for the car service to pick them up. He got a reply quickly. "Alright. Let's head down this way. The car service is going to meet us at the gift shop over that direction in 15 minutes, or as soon as it can get here."

Kurt and Sebastian looked around inside while Burt and Carole waited outside. Kurt stopped at the post card rack. Sebastian stood behind him and put his hands in the kangaroo pocket on the front of Kurt's hoodie and propped his chin on Kurt's left shoulder. Kurt pressed back against Sebastian's chest gently.

Sebastian spoke quietly directly into Kurt's ear. _"I love you,_ _mon étoile_."

Kurt grabbed a few more post cards and started to step back. Sebastian pulled his hands out of Kurt's pocket and moved so they could head to the cashier. Kurt paid for them and put them in Sebastian's notebook for safekeeping. He took Sebastian's hand and they walked out the front.

"I like those hoodies you two got. I wish they'd let me wear something comfortable all day while I work," he laughed. "But no, I have to wear a silly suit and tie. Ugh."

"I like the casual look, too," Carole said. "Not that I don't like your usual clothes, Kurt. But you look relaxed."

"It has been a relaxing week. Not a single person has said anything rude to us. It's been nice. I'm sure there are people who disapprove, but at least they've had the self-control to keep it to themselves. It's been really nice." He let go of Sebastian's hand and wrapped his arm around Sebastian's waist. Sebastian moved his arm and put it up around Kurt's shoulders closing the gap between them.

The car pulled up and they got in. Kurt scooted really close to Sebastian and managed to give him a quick kiss before Carole got in. "I love you too." He took Sebastian's hand again and intertwined their fingers.

It didn't take too long to get to the zoo. The driver dropped them off at the parking lot entrance. They walked back through, stopping to watch their favorite animals again. Kurt asked one of the workers to take a few photos of them with Sebastian's camera. Sebastian managed to get some better photos of the pandas than he did the first time they visited.

They exited along Connecticut Ave. They walked along the sidewalk on the zoo side of the street and took a look at the places along the other side. Kurt pulled his phone out and looked a couple of them up.

"That place on the corner has really good reviews. And some really good looking burgers in the photos."

"You're going to let me eat a burger? I love the place already," Burt laughed.

"Come on, Mr. Burgerlover."

They walked down to the corner, crossed, and went inside.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later that evening, they all watched another James Bond movie before heading to bed. Sebastian headed into the bedroom when the movie finished.

"Kurt, can you stay here for a few minutes?"

"Sure, Dad." He sat down on the loveseat next to Burt.

"I wanted to make sure you know that I am fine with you skipping some days of school. I know that sounds like an insane thing for me to say, but you've missed very few days of school throughout high school and you've had a crap experience for high school overall. You finally have someone to do things with and I want that for you more than for you to sit through another boring lesson on something that has no real impact on your life. You've earned some fun high school experiences. I know seniors have skip day and I know that you're not really friends with anyone except Sam and maybe Tina. But if you want to go do whatever they're doing, you can go. And if Sebastian doesn't have tests or something that day, he can come home the evening before and Carole can call him out the next morning."

"What you have you done with my real dad?" Kurt teased. "The one who would NEVER say these things?" He laughed.

"Well, he came to his senses and realized that you grew up too fast and it's time to have some fun before your childhood officially ends. I know you've been 18 all school year, but still."

"Alright, Dad. I appreciate the sentiment. I'll have fun, at least a little. I haven't heard anything about skip day. Puck actually came to me and apologized about not including me. He said Sam told them all off after the last Glee guys weekend at our house. It doesn't really matter now that Finn's not living with us, but Finn is the one that told the guys I didn't want to participate when the guys first started getting together sophomore year. He has a lot of preconceived notions and I'm not as much of a stereotype as he thinks. Maybe I'll host a guys' night and invite some guys from Dalton and Sam. I'll think about it."

"That's fine. And honestly, just this once, I'll fund the whole thing. I funded all of Finn's weekends and you didn't get to participate. One weekend for your friends can't possibly cost me that much. You can even do it as a pre-graduation party since some of those Dalton kids probably live pretty far away to get them to come after graduation."

"Thanks. I'll think about it and look at my calendar and see."

"If you don't want to do that, you could get a hotel room in Columbus and go back to that dance club for the evening and then go do something cool in Columbus the next day. There's got to be museums and fun stuff there, if that's more the type of thing your friends would like to do. And I'll pay for a room for you and whoever and your friends can pay for a second room with one of those adjoining doors."

"That's an idea too."

"I'm glad we got to spend some time together. I'm going to work on my schedule with my aide and see I can't work out a more set schedule so we can plan some family stuff together. Well, family stuff with the four of us. I'll have to work on doing stuff with Carole and Finn and Rachel somehow too. I'm not sure they're even going to last until school gets out. We're going to put them in marriage counseling."

"I told you."

"I know, bud, but it's his life and I can't control it. I pointed out every logical reason why waiting was a good idea, but he didn't listen."

"I know. The counseling sounds like a good idea, but you pick the person. Don't let Rachel just find someone who will take her side."

"I'd rather see you and Sebastian married and you can't even get married in Ohio."

"We haven't been dating that long. He heard you call him your future son-in-law."

"I know. He told me he did, but I'm not taking it back. He's good for you. You're good for each other. He loves you. And I know you love him. You may not be able to get married legally, but that doesn't change how I see the two of you."

"Well, I'm glad you approve. He's adjusting still. His life's been turned upside down. He's happy, but happy is a new feeling."

"I get that. I know you have to leave really early in the morning. I just wanted to talk to you and say my goodbyes tonight. The car service will be downstairs waiting at 6:30."

"We'll be ready to go. We've had a great time here. It's going to be hard to go back to him being gone 5 days a week after spending 9 days with him. He just makes everything better."

"I can tell. That's why I like him so much." Burt stood up. "Get some sleep, kiddo."

"'Night, Dad."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt shut and locked the door behind him. He went in the bathroom quickly and headed back into the bedroom and locked the bathroom door behind him. He put his pajamas in the suitcase that Sebastian had obviously completely packed while he was talking to Burt.

"Thank you. I was going to help with the packing."

"There wasn't much. Most of the clothes we brought were in the laundry bag anyway. I just folded a couple of shirts up and put them in. I left out clothes for tomorrow."

Kurt zipped the suitcase. "All we need to add is the toiletries bag in the morning."

"Come get in bed with me. Bring that ointment with you."

After Sebastian finished putting it on him, Kurt turned the bedside table lamp off and got back in bed. He scooted over and lay on his side facing Sebastian. "My dad authorized senior skip day and a pre-graduation party. He says we can either have a group over to spend the weekend like Finn has been doing or he'll pay for a hotel room in Columbus for us. And our friends can pay for an adjoining room and we can go to the dance club and places in Columbus to have fun with our friends."

"That was generous of him."

"It was. And surprising, but we need to look at our school calendars and stuff and see if we can work out a plan."

"And I can spend all of the Saturday lacrosse game weekends with you at Dalton. I also figured out how to take the pressure off of you at the shop. I was thinking about it for the last couple of days. Since I'm not going to train in the mornings for Cheerios, I'm going to get up and go to the shop after I eat breakfast. I'll work an hour each morning on the books since I can do that in my school clothes before the shop opens. That way they'll stay up to date and even though it won't be you making the money for doing it, it will be me and I can still put it in the 'save for an apartment fund'."

Sebastian kissed him. "Good. That makes my choice easier."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been considering whether to play or not. I want to, but I didn't want to give up half my weekends with you. And I couldn't justify both of us losing the income and shorting your dad on help at the shop. I know he wanted me to play if I wanted to, but I wasn't sure that he knew that it meant me not being able to work every other weekend. But if you're going to do the books with me and then come to Dalton every other weekend, both of those issues are taken care of."

Kurt kissed him. "We make a good team."

"We do. How are we getting to Lima tomorrow?"

"I'm honestly not sure. We'll have to ask in the morning. Carole's car is at her friend's house, but she'll need it when she comes home on Tuesday morning."

"Can we go shopping once we get back? I'm going to need to buy a pair of cleats and I'd like to go to that store that Carole mentioned with the warm underlayer clothing. Jeff loaned me his, but I need to get my own set now that I've decided that I'm going to play."

"We get to Columbus at noon, so we should have plenty of time to go shopping. We'll look online while we're waiting to board and see if we can find an outlet store that sells cleats so you can at least get them for less than retail."

"Perfect."

"Turn over and be the little spoon?"

"Kisses first."

"Of course."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Part of me is just not cooperating this morning," Sebastian said as he laughed and shook his head.

"The bathroom is right over there."

"But…"

"But what?"

"I like your right hand better than mine for this particular situation."

Kurt laughed at him.

"What will you do at school?"

"Wish you were there?"

"Come on." Kurt kissed him. "I'll have your situation fixed in no time."

They came back out of the bathroom a few minutes later. And less than a minute after that, Carole knocked in the bedroom door.

"Breakfast is ready, you two."

"We'll be right out," Kurt answered.

Sebastian laughed and put the toiletries case in the suitcase and zipped it up.

"Oh, sure you can laugh. I'm not sure I can manage to pull off a straight face with my red lips and cheeks."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now, let's see if I can make it through breakfast without 'blowing' my cover about what I've been up to."

"Very clever."

Kurt stuck his tongue out.

"Another offer? Twice in one day? Lucky me. I accept."

"Come on, Mr. Horny." Kurt grabbed both of their jackets and Sebastian picked up the suitcase.

He kissed Kurt on the cheek and quietly said, "Whatever you say, Mr. Sexy," as he reached for the doorknob. He opened the door and let Kurt walk through first. He sat their suitcase near the door. Kurt laid their jackets over the top.

"You two are going to have to eat quickly," Burt said.

They both sat down and took bites of their food without saying anything. Burt explained what he had arranged for them to get back to Lima. Once they finished eating, Burt and Carole hugged both of them. They went down to meet the car and headed to the airport.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Just slightly past noon, Kurt and Sebastian came out of the airport and found Puck leaning against the Navigator.

"I always did want a chance to drive this beauty."

"Well, now you've had your chance," Kurt said walking around to the driver's side. "Hop in the backseat. We're going out to lunch, and then we're going shopping." Sebastian put their suitcase in the back and got in the passenger seat.

"Shopping? I did not sign up for shopping."

"Well, signed up or not, that's what we're doing. Sebastian needs cleats and some cold weather athletic wear."

"So, we're going to a sporting goods store?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. I thought you meant we were going to some frilly dress clothes store."

"Not today," Kurt said dryly.

Sebastian spoke up. "Why do all of you treat Kurt with such disdain and act like he's ultra girly?"

"Um… he's always wearing fancy clothes and acts like he'd rather die than break a fingernail?"

"Hmm. I think maybe you all see what you think is there, but really isn't."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll show you, but not all at once. You have to agree to hang out with us though."

"Do I get free lunch or dinner out of it?"

"I guess, as long as you don't eat more than like $10 worth of food. I'm not made of money," Sebastian said.

"You go to Dalton."

"And I work at Burt's shop and I tutor. I don't get money from my ex-father."

"Ex-father?"

"Biological father. Non-supportive paternal figure. Your choice."

"Got it. I got one of those. It sucks."

"Yep. So, if I buy you lunch, it's coming straight out of my own paycheck."

"Fine. I'll keep it under $10."

"I'm giving you a chance because Kurt said you apologized to him and that means a lot to me."

"Alright. Panera, Chipotle, or Cheesecake Factory for lunch?" Kurt asked.

"I've never eaten at any of those places," Sebastian said.

"Me neither. The Chipotle commercials look good. Let's just try that," Puck said.

"Chipotle it is." Kurt turned off the highway and headed toward the retail area. They parked, went inside, and got in line.

"It looks good," Sebastian said.

"It smells good," Puck said.

They each ordered something different. Kurt paid and they sat down to eat.

"It's good and they're not chintzy with the food. I like it," Puck said. "I'd eat here again," he said as he stuffed a huge bite of burrito in his mouth.

"I will never manage to eat this much in one sitting." Kurt cut 1/3 of his burrito off and put it in Puck's basket. "You can have part of mine so it doesn't go to waste."

"Mmm. More for me. Thanks."

They headed to the New Balance store and Sebastian picked out cleats. He was looking around at the cold weather underclothes. "Kurt, can you check Kohl's. I wonder if they carry the same type of stuff. With it being March, if they have any left, I bet it's marked down and we might be able to get a coupon too. Even on sale, the prices are really high here. I don't mind so much for the cleats because I'll wear them all season and they need to fit well, but this stuff, I only need on chilly days and I really don't need the logo. I just need to be warm."

"I'll check." Kurt found a few options and showed them to Sebastian.

"Those are fine. I'm going for functionality not brand name recognition or design. Can we buy them at the closest Kohl's or do we have to order them? I'd really rather try them on and know that they fit."

Puck was just hanging around. "So, what do you need cleats for in March?"

"Lacrosse."

"Preppy school sport?"

"Actually, no. It was created by Native Americans."

"Really?"

"Really. I've been playing it since junior high. It's not an Olympic sport yet or anything, but it's getting more popular. Look up the history and check it out on Youtube or something when you get home. I can't use that much data to show you a game on my phone. If I had to compare it to something, I guess I'd say it's kind of like hockey, played on a football field using balls and sticks with nets on the ends instead of a puck and hockey sticks. It's really fast-paced like hockey and soccer."

"I'll check it out. So, you made the lacrosse team?"

"I did. The roster went up the Friday before spring break. I borrowed some cleats from Jeff, the tall blond Warbler, for our outdoor practice that week because I didn't want invest $50 or more in cleats I might not need if I didn't make the team. He plays soccer and we wear the same size shoes."

"Makes sense."

Kurt cut in. "We can get them nearby. Let's get in line."

They stood in line to pay.

"So, your dad ditched you?"

"Well, I ditched him I guess. Not interested in playing his game."

"Why didn't you go back to France?"

"I'd have to repeat this year. I didn't take the right classes last semester to complete my requirements there, so I wouldn't be able to take the second half of the classes this semester. I'd have to wait until September and do my last year over."

"Yeah, I get that. No one wants to repeat their senior year."

"So, are you going back when school gets out?"

"Nope. I applied to college here in Ohio and got in."

"Cool."

"You?"

"Nope. Didn't apply. I'm not really a school kind of guy."

"So, you have other plans?"

"I run my own pool cleaning company in the summer, but that's obviously not enough to live on year round. I've only got two winter gigs. There aren't a lot of indoor pools in Lima. I need to work on a plan. I wanted to skip town, but I've got a little sister. It's complicated."

"I get complicated. Trust me."

"How do you speak English so well?"

"I had American au pairs."

"Au pair?"

"Nanny, sort of."

"Got it."

"It's a popular thing to do in Europe. Parents hire college students from other countries to take care of their babies. Then the babies grow up to be bilingual. The college students work for free and get to live with the family at no cost. Housing is expensive in Paris, so my mother never had trouble finding a willing student."

"Seems like a good deal for both sides."

"It is. Anyway, my au pairs were American. So, until I was 11, my caregivers only spoke American English to me. Thus, no French accent. Also, I started studying English in school at age 8. So, I've been studying it pretty much the whole time I've gone to school."

"That will be $54.87."

Sebastian ran his debit card through the machine.

The cashier handed him his receipt. "Thank you, enjoy your day."

"You too," he replied.

"Well, that's done. Let's head to Kohl's. I can buy athletic socks and the cold weather underlayer there."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Black, navy, or gray?" Kurt asked.

"Navy. Shows less dirt, matches the school colors."

Kurt shuffled through the packages and handed four to Sebastian. "Go try them on. Bring out the ones that fit. Put the ones that don't fit in the basket at the end of the dressing room."

Puck shuffled through the clearance rack near the dressing room. "This how you dress so fancy without spending a fortune?"

"Sometimes, but I actually buy a lot of stuff at Goodwill, which is even cheaper."

"You shop at Goodwill?"

"I do. I also know how to tailor clothes to make them fit better and I can alter them to look like what's hot and trendy. I buy pants off clearance racks a lot more frequently than shirts. Pants are harder to find second-hand."

"I haven't seen you dressed the way you are today since we did the boys mash up on vitamin D."

"Well, I figured it was time to start wearing some things that have just been sitting in my closet."

"What's Sebastian think of the bad boy look?"

"I think it's hot," Sebastian answered as he came out carrying the packaging and the shirt and pants he had chosen. "Well, he's hot and the clothes look good on him. That's a better description."

"Good for you, then. About time you found someone with a working pair of eyes."

"What?" Kurt asked, trying to keep his voice down.

"Everyone deserves to find someone who thinks they're hot."

"Okay… Socks." Kurt said, changing the subject.

They went back to the sock department.

"Are there any rules about the socks? Height, color, anything?"

"Nope."

"Well, they're buy one pack, get one half off. So, maybe a pack for lacrosse and a no-show pack for the summer?"

"Works for me." Sebastian looked through his choices and picked. They headed up to the front.

"That coupon you got work on your whole purchase?" Puck asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Let's go find the toys or the girls clothes or something. My sister's birthday is in a couple of weeks. They gotta have something nice here she'd like. She never gets anything from a store like this."

"Sure. It can't be that hard to find. Let's go look."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"How much is this dress?" Puck looked for a price tag. "30% off $20 would make it like $14. I don't know what size she wears."

"How tall is she? I bet we can figure it out. How's she built?"

"She's skinny. She's like this tall." Puck held his hand out.

"Okay, that's around 4 feet tall. Let's look on the tag. It says she wears a medium. Let's take out a medium. Hold your hand out again." Kurt held the dress near Puck's arm.

"It looks a little long."

"Better than too short. She can wear it longer, like all spring and summer, and maybe even next fall and winter with a sweater or turtleneck."

"Good point."

"If it's too loose, I'll take it up for you so it can be let out later."

"Deal. She's going to love this. She's never had anything like this. She shows me pictures in magazines at the library of dresses that are like $100."

"Well, then $14 is a steal. Anything else?"

"Not unless they've got Barbie clothes on sale cheap."

"Well, we can look. The toys are over there," Kurt said leading the way. He sorted through the Barbie section. "It looks like you could get this one. It's two dresses, a hat, a purse, and two pairs of shoes for $5. It's on clearance. Must be leftover from Christmas."

"I'll take it. She won't know the difference. She's turning 8."

"True. Let's go then."

"Here, wait." Puck pulled out a $20 and handed it to Sebastian. Thanks."

"You're welcome?"

"Hey, it's your coupon and I'd have never known to come look in a place like this for good deals. I just figured a fancy store meant not to bother going in. My sister is going to think I am the best brother in the universe for $20."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, anything else?" Kurt asked once they were in the Navigator. "Otherwise, it's back to Lima."

"I'm good," Sebastian said.

"Yeah, me too. So, what is it that you're going to show me that will make me realize the error of my ways?"

"I'll show you one thing when we get home. The others, you'll have to come out with us or spend time with me in the evening, like Sebastian said."

"Fine."

"I'll take you places the other jocks won't see you hanging out with the school fag, don't worry."

"I'm not that guy anymore. And don't call yourself that."

"Okay. We're still going where I won't get the crap kicked out of me. Been there, done that too recently for my liking."

"What do you mean?"

"I might tell you if I see more of the new and improved Puck."

"I'm trying…"

They rode in silence for a while.

"Thanks for what you did in Glee. No one's ever stuck up for me like that," Puck said.

"I was only doing what was right. You have a good singing voice. It's not right that Finn and Rachel automatically get to do the duet again. I think the girls should audition with you if you want a duet lead and if you want the lead for an all-guys song, then I'm in favor of that as well. I think what we did for Regionals was really good. We can do a similar set up with you on lead instead of me."

"Won't Rachel kill you for talking about this in front of Sebastian?"

"What's he going to do with the information? We're not talking about the set list. Him knowing that you might sing lead on the duet or the solo doesn't change their set list or their strategy, which is basically just practice until they're as close to perfect as humanly possible. Rachel's just being ridiculous. I don't care what she says."

"You're right, but it won't stop her from throwing a fit."

"She's not three. She needs to come up with a new method of negotiating."

Puck laughed.

"She's married for God's sake. She needs to grow up."

"And you two are wearing matching rings…" Puck pointed out.

"We are. But we also work. We've both gotten into college. We actually get along. We don't boss each other around or play passive-aggressive mind games or throw temper tantrums. I'm not claiming that we're completely grown up. But enough already with her childish behavior."

"Hey, I've got another question for you."

"What's that?"

"If I bought the stuff to make a cake, would you either show how to frost it nice or do it for me? I can bake the cake, just fine, but it always looks like a nightmare after I frost it and she's getting old enough that it's starting to matter to her."

"Sure. I'll show you and if you're hopelessly awful at it, I'll finish it up myself so it will look nice. But we need to talk about when because I work a lot of hours."

"Her birthday's the 29th, but I'm having her party on the 31st, after lunch, so I can get away with just serving cake and drinks. I can't afford to spring for lunch for 10 kids."

"Alright. I can come over on the 31st, but it will be early. I have to be at work at 8:00. So, I could be there at 7:00."

"Fine. I can't afford a $30 grocery store cake. I need to make it for like $5, so I'll get up at 7:00 and you can show me how to frost it. I'll make the layers the night before and have them ready."

"Can I ask a nosy question?" Sebastian asked.

"The answer is that I have a dead beat mom who lives with us."

"Ah. I know how that is."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. At least your sister has you to care about her. That means the world. Really."

"Yeah. I try. I've been a huge screw up, but I'm trying to do better. She deserves better."

"You said you weren't going to go to college," Kurt said. "How about technical school? You run your own pool cleaning service. What about studying servicing air conditioning and heating units? That pays really well and there's still time to fill out the FAFSA to get grants so you can go for free."

"Free?"

"Yes. Free. I did a ton of research last fall and I bet you can get enough in grants to not have to pay anything for the classes."

"Why don't they teach us THIS at school? I'm never going to need to know half of what they teach and then they skip the part where I could learn to do something useful for free?"

"I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow. If I don't get released to work, I'll go with you right after Glee and show you. If I can work, then we'll have to figure out a time."

"Why are you going to help me?"

"Do you not want my help?"

"I do. I just want to know why. I've never been nice to you."

"Well, you quit being awful, so that's a start."

"The real answer is that he's just nicer than 99% of the population," Sebastian said.

"Let me know in Glee. I gotta pick my sister up at 4:00. I can meet you somewhere after that. Is there somewhere in Lima I can study fixing stuff?"

Kurt told him what he knew as they continued on their way back to Lima.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, I gotta get home soon. I gotta make dinner. My sister's at the neighbor's, but she doesn't want her to stay through dinner. I sent a lunch with her when I left. She's nice enough to let my sister hang out and play with her kid and watch TV sometimes and doesn't charge me, so I gotta be home soon."

Sebastian whispered into Kurt's ear.

"Oh. Okay."

"Come on. He'll show you two things and then you can go."

Kurt opened the garage door and Sebastian and Puck followed him out. He pulled a small box off the shelf and opened it. He took out a ninja star and quickly threw it at a board on the wall.

"Dude, that's awesome."

Sebastian grabbed the star out of the board and stepped back. Kurt threw another, hitting the center again. Sebastian pulled it out. Kurt threw one more dead center. Sebastian brought them back and offered them to Puck. He threw one and didn't even come close. It hit the wall about three feet down from having the wrong arc on the throw.

"That's why the boards go all the way to the floor and ceiling," he laughed.

Puck took the next one and threw it, getting about 2 feet from the center of the target. The last one got about a foot away. Sebastian pulled them out and put them back in the box. Kurt pulled out a different box and pulled out two sai swords and put on a little show for Puck who jumped back when he started twirling them.

"Alright. You're a secret ninja."

"Amongst other things that you might learn," Sebastian laughed.

"Thanks for coming to get us today, Puck. I appreciate it. I hope we didn't completely bore you to death," Kurt said.

"Nah. It's good. I got lunch and my sister's birthday shopping done. See ya."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Sam's not back yet, so…" Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt's hips, resting his hands on Kurt's butt.

"So?"

"I'd like to take you up on that 'offer' from earlier." He kissed Kurt.

"You would, would you?"

"Most definitely."

"Alright. But we throw all of our clothes in the washer first, then we shower, and I'll make good on my offer." He rolled his eyes and then kissed down Sebastian's neck.

"What's with the eye roll?"

"You're just silly sometimes."

"Who moi? Silly?"

"All you have to do is ask. You don't have to wait for me to offer."

"I'll work on it. I don't want you to feel like that's all I think about."

"I know it's not, but I also know that you're as interested as I am. So, don't be shy. There might be the smallest chance I'm not in the mood, but I will be honest with you if there's a reason. Otherwise, I'm not going to say 'no' to you."

"Chop, chop with the laundry then." He started to undress. He opened the suitcase and grabbed their bag of dirty clothes and dumped it into the laundry basket. He walked over to Kurt and started unbuttoning his shirt."

"In a hurry?"

"Just being efficient. You said laundry first, so I'm getting the laundry started."

Kurt laughed and helped undress himself. Sebastian took off down the stairs in his underwear, started the load and ran right back up.

"What if Sam had walked in while you were down there?"

"I'd just tell him I'm washing all of my clothes and run right past him."

"You're nuts."

"You love me."

"I do. Come here." Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck.

Sebastian put his hands on Kurt's waist and kissed him, walking him backwards towards the bathroom. "In you go," he said as he turned him around.


	19. Chapter 19

When he woke up at 5:50, he turned over and kissed Sebastian awake.

"Mmm. You're the best alarm clock ever." He scooted closer and kissed Kurt again.

"Come on. If we get dressed for school now, we'll have time to eat breakfast together before we leave."

"Just a few more kisses?"

"You are so cute when you're sleepy. Yes, a few more kisses, but we'll end up with cereal bars if we don't get up soon."

They kissed for a few more minutes and then got dressed and ready for school. They worked together and made a quick breakfast and ate together. He saw Sebastian off with another goodbye kiss and hug and headed to the shop. He worked until he had to leave to pick Sam up for school.

During lunch he called and made an appointment to take his ASE recertifications in Columbus on Friday. Carole had arranged for him to stay at her friend's house Thursday night so that he could avoid driving back after Sebastian's lacrosse game Thursday night and back to Columbus the next morning. Once he had the appointment set, he went to Miss Pillsbury's office and let her know that he wouldn't be at school on Friday.

He left for his doctor's appointment after 4th period and returned just in time for Glee to start. He sat in the back row. Sam came in and sat down next to him and Puck sat on his other side.

"So, are we on this afternoon or not?"

"Yeah. We'll go today. I've been released to work, but with lifting restrictions. I'll go in after we're done and see what I can do within my limitations. I have to drop Sam off at the shop, and then we'll meet. Text me your address."

"You don't know where I live?"

"Nope. You've never invited me over."

Mr. Schue walked in. Puck texted Kurt his address and paid attention. They spent too much time talking and not enough time singing in Kurt's opinion, but he didn't have the energy to invest in trying to get everyone back on track that day. He had other things on his mind.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, let's go inside. We may be told that you need to make an appointment and come back, but we'll see," Kurt said.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. How can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Well, we'd like to get some information on vocational programs and maybe take some aptitude tests, if possible."

"Have a seat. I think Mr. Canton has an opening."

Kurt and Puck sat down in the small waiting area.

"Come on back."

They followed her to Mr. Canton's office and went inside the open door and sat down in the chairs facing his desk.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Cindy said you had some interest in our vocational programs."

"Good afternoon. I'm Kurt Hummel. This is Noah Puckerman. He's the one that is interested in learning about the programs offered."

"Hummel. Are you Burt's son?"

"I am."

"Well, I know you already have plenty of training then. Noah, how can I help you today?"

"Actually, Kurt just told me about this possibility yesterday, so I really know nothing. I run my own pool cleaning service, but he mentioned maybe being able to get grants to study to learn to repair stuff like air conditioners and heaters."

"How about for today, I give you one of our school catalogs and a few brochures about our programs? You can take them home with you and read through them. You can call the number on the back once you've had a chance to look through everything and you have more specific questions."

"I can do that."

Mr. Canton pulled a catalog off his shelf and selected about a half dozen brochures and put them in a folder. "Look these over and come back to talk to us. We have a lot of programs and Kurt is right about grants. Do you qualify for free lunches at school?"

"Yeah."

"Then, Kurt is more than likely correct that you can apply for grants and get most, if not all, of your costs to attend here covered."

"Cool. I'll read these. I need to find a way to make a decent living so I can take care of my sister."

"Family is important. Just call and make an appointment when you're ready. We'll do everything we can to get you set up in a program that will get you ready for a good-paying career."

Kurt stood. Puck followed suit.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Canton. Noah will set up an appointment."

Kurt and Puck left and went back out to Kurt's Navigator and headed back towards Puck's.

"Read through the materials. See what you think."

"I think I need to get a real job, and if I can do that by learning something here for free, it sounds like a good idea. I'll look them over tonight after I put my sister to bed. Thanks for coming with me. I don't know how to do the whole polite thing."

"Life training – years of customer service at my dad's shop."

Puck started looking through the HVAC brochure and they rode in silence. Kurt pulled up in front of Puck's house.

"Thanks again." Puck got out and waved as Kurt drove off.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt spent his time at the shop reviewing the materials for the ASE tests he had scheduled. He figured that if he couldn't really work, he'd work on improving his work skills and he'd surprise his dad.

When it was time to close up, Kurt let Sam out and set the alarm. They headed home to make dinner and do their schoolwork.

"Hey, do you want to do your work with me? Oh, and I found out something today."

"Tell me what you found out first."

"Well, when I went online to find a testing center for my ASE certifications, I was looking around the website. They offer accommodations for people with disabilities. If you have an official diagnosis for your dyslexia, you could get extra time to take the tests, which would give you a much better chance of passing."

"I'll ask my mom."

"Have you figured any of those things out that were causing you so much stress?"

"A little. But if I could pass those certification tests, that would help a lot because I could make more an hour than just minimum wage."

"Well, the next window for testing is April 10 - June 30. If you can get the papers, maybe everything could be set up and you could take the two tests that would get you a raise."

"Okay."

"Let's make soup for dinner. We still need to talk and we can do that while it cooks without having to pay attention to it."

"Works for me."

They headed inside, washed up and worked together and got the soup cooking quickly.

Sam sat down at the island. "What did you need to talk about?"

"Well, are you planning on going to Kentucky every weekend?"

"No, not every weekend. Why?"

"Sebastian made the lacrosse team and they have weekend games every other weekend and him bringing the car here is going to be really hard to do. He doesn't want to inconvenience you, though. He can drive back here on Friday afternoon and leave it here and we can drive back to Dalton in my Navigator then I'll just have to start going to pick him up on Fridays to bring him home the weekends he doesn't have a game."

"So, then I'd have the car all the time between now and the end of school."

"Basically yeah."

"And if he keeps the car there on the weekends he has games, I'd have the car every other weekend, but you wouldn't have to go get him every other weekend."

"Yep, but then you'd be here with no car all weekend, with potentially no one home."

"But if Burt and Carole are both gone, one of them will have left a vehicle here, right?"

"I guess that's possible."

"So, I could still go to Kentucky every other weekend, which is pretty much what I've been doing. And if I need to go somewhere around town, I could take whatever vehicle is here."

"Yes."

"Then we should just do that. Leaving him in Westerville with no transportation for the rest of the semester versus me potentially having to take the bus or ask for a ride if Burt and Carole both take their cars on the four weekends in question? The logical choice is to let him keep the car those four weekends."

"As long as you're sure. He doesn't want to interfere your plans to see your family. He knows how much you love them and he doesn't to be the cause of you not seeing them."

"It's fine. Except April 8th," he said after he pulled his phone out and checked his calendar. "That's Easter and my parents want me to be there."

"That's not for 2½ weeks. We'll figure something out for that weekend."

They ladled out the soup and started to eat.

"I have a question for you."

"Where were you this morning before you came back home to pick me up for school?"

"At the shop."

"Why?"

"I'm doing the books again since Sebastian's going to play lacrosse and he'll only be coming home every other week. So, since I wake up so early anyway, and I'm not training with the Cheerios right now, I'm going in and working in the mornings on the books before I go to school."

"You're going to wear yourself out."

"I hope not. I'm just trying to save up money. I won't get any financial aid for college and I don't want to be a big burden to my dad. He's making more money now, but I'm hoping he can finally get rid of the last of the medical bills from the coma and heart attack."

After they ate, they cleaned up and headed off to study.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian sat down in the chair facing Mr. Maddox's desk as he had a few other times during the semester, each conversation becoming a little less school-oriented and a little more personal.

"I've decided to go ahead and do it. I'm stronger than I was. I know he'll say terrible things at some point during the conversation, but I think that's inevitable. I feel like I need closure on my life in Paris. I need to know if any part of my future life involves going back and dealing with my mother."

"I can understand that. You're getting ready to move forward with your adult life. School will be over in about two months. There's a lot of unease with such a huge transition. You said you and Kurt got along well the whole week, but living together 24/7 for the next year is a big decision to make."

"I don't have doubts about that. Really. I just need to know if I have to go back to Paris to deal with legal issues. I can't leave it unresolved and then have a big surprise of needing to go to Paris to deal with things unexpectedly."

"That's true. Have you even managed to save up enough to pay for a ticket to Paris?"

"No. I've been saving most of the money I've made, but I've also put gas in the car, gone out to eat a few times, we went to a couple of museums, roller skating, the movies once. Little things, but it still adds up. And I had to buy cleats for lacrosse. Plus, if I have to go, my father should pay for the ticket since he's the one that arranged this whole plan."

"Little things do add up and I don't think you're spending willy-nilly. You've worked really hard here at school and to work 10 or more hours a week outside of your 8 classes, tutoring, and the Warblers is a lot, plus lacrosse now, and all the homework Dalton students have."

"There's a lot more homework here than I ever had in France. That's for sure. A lot of it pretty unnecessary from my point of view, but I'm not in charge of anything."

"Unnecessary?"

"Well, I'm studying finance, which in a general sense is math. I took a lot of math classes in my previous school. Here, I'm taking a bunch of humanities classes that I have no need of to study finance in college. I understand the need for US History and Government if I'm going to live here in the US. Anyway, that's not why I came – I didn't come to discuss the difference in European and American educational systems. It's just a lot of work that I wouldn't have had to do if I had stayed in Paris in my previous school."

"I get that. So, you're happy with your choice to stay here after you graduate?"

"Mostly, yes."

"Mostly?"

"I still feel like an outsider here. Paris is my home. If we switched places and you took a job in Paris, you might absolutely love it, but you'd still feel like an outsider 8 months later."

"So, you're happy with your choice, but you still miss the comfort of being where you grew up."

"It's not really comfort. It's just really different here. I didn't need a car. I took the bus or the subway. I walked. There was everything you can imagine at my fingertips. Here I have to drive everywhere. Here, walking is something people do for enjoyment or exercise, not to get from one place to another because things are spread so far apart here. You can't walk out the front of the school and go buy fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, bread that was just baked an hour ago, a new book to read, a notebook, a pack of screws, and laundry detergent and be back in less than 2 hours and have only walked."

"That's true. I'm not even sure where I could go buy bread that had been baked in the last hour or actual fresh fish."

"But I am happy here. It's just really different. I want to take Kurt to Paris though."

"I'm sure he'd like that. So, you're going to go talk to your father. What do you hope to gain?"

"Just closure. I just need to know if I need to warn my mother that's she's going to be homeless. She's never been maternal, but she is a person. And it just seems wrong for her to just have nowhere to go with no forewarning. Maybe it would be better if she didn't know. I don't know. I can see her being vindictive and destroying stuff in the flat making it less valuable. Selling the appliances, damaging the fixtures, turning the power off, and cutting the wiring."

"That's something you'll need to share with your father and let him make a decision about if the flat returns to his possession for whatever reason."

"Yeah."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday and Wednesday were very similar to Monday, with Kurt getting up early, working, picking Sam up, going to classes, Glee, studying for his ASE exams while Sam worked, and going home and doing his schoolwork. Each night he called and talked to Sebastian before we went to bed.

Wednesday night, he packed for the weekend and had his suitcase ready to go for the next morning, just adding his toiletry kit right before he went downstairs. He went to work for an hour, picked Sam up, and went to school. Carole had called and notified the school that he'd be leaving during last period for an appointment. He had thanked her profusely for letting him go to Sebastian's first game of the season.

He headed off toward Westerville as soon as he left school. He arrived at 3:45. He had planned on just slipping his Washington, DC hoodie on over his clothes, but it was unseasonably warm and he grabbed the hoodie out of his suitcase and slipped into the backseat of the Navigator and took his shirt and undershirt off and just put the hoodie on so he wouldn't overheat. He got back out and put his shirts into the suitcase. He switched his shoes to his Vans, grabbed his phone out of his satchel, put it in his hoodie pocket, and headed inside to pick up his day pass.

He headed straight out to the athletic fields once he had put the pass in his wallet. He wasn't sure where the lacrosse team played, but from the description of the size of the field, he figured they played on the football field. He made it out to the fields and saw a few people heading into the football stands and asked. There weren't many people there, but the game didn't start for 30 minutes.

Right at 4:00, he texted Sebastian.

To Sebastian: _Good luck, mon joyau. I hope you win your game this afternoon. I'll be cheering for you._

To Kurt: _I'm on my way to the locker room right now to change. I just left Warbler practice._

To Sebastian: _I love you. I can't wait to see you_.

To Kurt: _I love you too. I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow too. I have to put my phone in my locker now._

Kurt waited about 10 minutes and walked over to where the team would be walking from the locker room out to the field to warm up. He stood close to the corner edge of the field waiting. Less than five minutes later, the team approached the field. Sebastian was lost in thought and looking at the ground in front of him instead of looking up. Flint finally shoved him a little and pointed at Kurt.

A huge smile spread across Sebastian's face and he took off toward Kurt. "You're here." He was careful to hug Kurt gently.

"I am. I wouldn't miss your first game of the season. I'll cheer for you. Go warm up."

"I can't believe you came all the way over to watch me."

"Of course I came. I love you. Now go stretch, so you don't pull something while you're playing."

Sebastian took off and caught up to the rest of the team and stretched and ran some drills on the end of the field. While Kurt had been waiting to see Sebastian, the opposing team had arrived and they were doing the same thing on the other end of the field. Kurt headed back to the stands and sat down to wait for the game to start.

He found that Sebastian's description of the game was pretty accurate. It was really fast paced and he had a hard time watching the ball at first. The only way he could tell whether Sebastian had the ball was by watching his number because they were all wearing helmets that looked sort of like a cross between a bicycle helmet and football helmet.

The game was a lot shorter than he had expected as well. With football, the games always seemed to drag on forever since the clock only ran when the ball was in play and it took so long to reset between downs sometimes. But with lacrosse, it was constant motion and exciting to watch.

Dalton won 14-9. Sebastian scored five times and was the lead scorer. Kurt left the stands as soon as the game ended and headed back to where he stood waiting for Sebastian earlier. When the team filed off the field, Sebastian looked to where Kurt had been before to see if he was there. He headed over to him instead of following the team.

"Congratulations! You won. And you were the top scorer. You're amazing!" Kurt was bouncing up onto his toes.

"Coach made me captain."

"That's fantastic. Congratulations! Where do you want me to meet you? I have a pass and I can stay until curfew."

"Go inside and wait for me outside the locker rooms in the hallway."

"Okay."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

About 15 minutes later, Sebastian came out of the locker room. He was dressed in a navy sweatsuit with the red Dalton crest on the chest of the pullover hoodie and the left thigh of the sweatpants. He was carrying his uniform.

"That looks comfy."

"Compliments of the lacrosse team. We get to wear these to away games and around the school if we want, but not to class of course." Sebastian took Kurt's hand and they walked toward the front of the school.

"Well, that will be a lot easier to travel in."

"So, Mr. Surprise Fan, what are you proposing we do this evening?"

"Well, I figured you have a tutoring session to go to at some point and dinner and homework."

"True."

"I'll go get my books and meet you up in your room. I can leave them there and we can go eat."

"I have an alternate plan, but go get your books and meet me at my room." He let go of Kurt's hand and winked before he turned to head to the dorm wing.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt knocked.

"Who is it?"

"It's Kurt."

The door opened far enough for him to slip in, but that was it. As soon as he was through the door, it shut behind him and the lock clicked. He turned around to find Sebastian standing there in just his sweatpants. Kurt put his bag on Sebastian's desk chair.

"I'm definitely sure that being shirtless in the dining hall will get you demerits."

"Good thing I'm not in the dining hall, then."

"I guess so. So, your alternate plan is that we skip dinner?"

"Nope. My alternate plan is that we kiss and make out for," he looked at his phone, "fifteen minutes and then we hurry down to dinner and get there in time to eat."

Kurt pulled his hoodie off. "There. Shirtless will have to do for now."

Sebastian stepped forward and ran his hands down Kurt's arms. "I think maybe you should lie back on the bed for my plan. I don't need your pants off, but…" He started kissing Kurt, causing Kurt to step back and back until the back of his knees bumped into the bed. "It will be easier if you lie back. Just scoot up in he bed and let me take care of you." He continued to kiss Kurt, licking into his mouth as Kurt stretched out on the bed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian went through the line and found a table near the window. It didn't take long before Nick and Jeff had plopped down at the table with them.

"We heard you were here," Nick said. "I didn't think you were coming until tomorrow."

"It was a surprise."

"A big one," Sebastian said with a huge smile on his face.

"Flint said you guys won and now you're team captain," Jeff said.

"That's true."

"Are you still coming back for the weekend?" Nick asked.

"Yep. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I'm not sure exactly what time. I'll text when I'm close. I have to do something tomorrow afternoon before I get here."

"But you'll be here in time for dinner, right?" Sebastian asked.

"I should be, unless there's some type of horrible Friday afternoon traffic on the north side of Columbus. I'll be sure to call at 6:15, if I'm stuck in traffic so you don't miss dinner."

"So, any plans for the weekend?" Nick asked.

"None that I've made," Kurt said. "Maybe Sebastian has some. I just came to be with him, plans or no plans."

"How much longer until you get that cast off?" Jeff asked. "And when did you break it?"

"Two weeks until it comes off and it happened the night of the Cheerleading Regionals."

"You were hurt? You didn't say anything," Nick said.

"I just wanted to enjoy the weekend we had planned together. And we did."

"We didn't see you fall or anything during the competition," Jeff said.

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "You can tell them, but not here in the dining hall."

Sebastian nodded.

"So, tell us about spring break. Sebastian said that you went to visit your dad and you're wearing a Washington, DC hoodie. Tell us about it. Neither of us has been to DC before."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"After you get back, we'll have a half hour or so before I have to leave."

"Okay. If I had known you were coming, I would have tried to reschedule the session."

"It's fine. I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew you had to tutor someone. Now, scoot before you're late and he complains to the school."

Sebastian gave him one last quick kiss and hurried off to the study room at the end of the hall.

Blaine showed up about 10 minutes later and knocked on Sebastian's door. "Can we talk for a few minutes, Kurt? I saw you down at dinner and I thought maybe we could talk while Sebastian is tutoring Antony."

"Sure." Kurt stepped out the door, textbook in hand, and he followed Blaine to the lounge across the hall, which was empty.

Blaine sat down in the armchair next to the couch and Kurt sat on the couch.

"I actually have something I want to show you – but you first."

Blaine kept his voice low. "I went to see the school counselor like you suggested. He's actually better than the therapist my dad had gotten back before I came here."

"That's good. I hope seeing him helps."

"Yeah. He says that if I actually want to change that there's hope that I can. I'm not really all that sure how much help there is when a big part of the problem are people who don't see a problem with their behavior. But I don't want to become like them. I don't really see a problem with most of my behavior, but clearly you did. And I don't have any close friends, so that should be a sign of something. Trying to change for the better has to be better than refusing to try."

"That's true."

"What did you want to show me?"

Kurt got his phone out and pulled up the website he had found after he had talked to Blaine in the café and handed Blaine the phone. "Read that."

Blaine took the phone and read through the information. Kurt went back to reading his government book.

After about 15 minutes, Blaine looked up. "Do you think this is me?"

"Maybe. It seems to fit. You never seemed to be intentionally trying to hurt me, but you just never got what it was that I needed from you. Even when I would try to explain it, you just never seemed to get it."

"And Sebastian does?"

"I don't want this to turn into a who's a better boyfriend conversation."

"That's not what I'm asking. I'm just trying to figure out if other guys our age get it – get what it's like to be 'romantic' or whatever word is appropriate. Do guys our age actually behave this way instinctively or is it learned behavior that I just didn't learn?"

"Brief answer – yes, Sebastian gets it. Less personal answer is that I think some guys struggle, but I do think some guys our age are really good at it. Think about Mike. He's always been really good at being in a relationship with Tina. I think some guys get better at it as they spend time with someone they have romantic feelings for, but with you time didn't seem to matter. I just want you to know that you're not the only person without romantic feelings. And it's not wrong to be that way any more than it's wrong to be gay. There are a lot of combinations of the way people are. Maybe you can show it to the counselor and see if he can help you more. I only know what I read. But if you feel that this describes you and you learn more about it, then I think it might help you understand yourself better and understand what kind of relationships will work for you and what type won't."

"I'll show him."

"I think if this really does fit you, and you had been aware of it last year, that the whole thing with Jeremiah and with me wouldn't have gone up in flames. If you don't actually have romantic feelings for anyone, that doesn't prevent you from being in a relationship with someone, it just seems like maybe it would be better for the person you have a sexual attraction to know that early on in the relationship and for you to steer clear of being in a relationship with someone like me who is extremely romantic at heart."

"I guess if I think about it sort of like on a scale of 0-6, like the Kinsey scale, where 3 is dead center average amount of romantic behavior, that would put a lot of guys in that like 2-4 range. But maybe you're like a 6 and I'm a 1 since I do like to sing songs to people as a way to be romantic. Or maybe that's just a learned behavior too. I'll think about it. But whether I end up deciding that this is something that I feel is a label that I will apply to myself, I should consider the idea of expectations. I don't care for a lot of the romantic kind of stuff. I would never want someone to pull out my chair. And the only reason I would do it is because I've been trained that gentlemen do that for ladies. Opening doors, gift giving, all that stuff. None of it appeals to me to do or to have done for me. I'll do more reading on this. It's something interesting to think about."

"When I look back on our relationship, trying to be objective, it seems like there were times that it felt to me like you were being romantic, but you were doing something out of obligation, like dancing with me at Prom. You hadn't slow danced with me at all that evening, but when I was left standing there alone, you stepped up and did the romantic thing, but I don't think you felt romantic. Looking back, I think you felt obligated not to leave me standing there alone since you were my boyfriend."

"Honestly, you're right. What had happened to you was already really terrible and I didn't want to make it even worse by just leaving you standing there. I didn't feel any more like slow dancing then than I had earlier in the evening, but I did what I thought was right."

"And I want you to know that I appreciate the fact that you didn't just leave me standing there alone, but I misinterpreted your actions as very romantic."

"I get that. And I didn't ask you out as a way to hurt you. This is what I should talk to the counselor about. I can't really figure out why I did what I did."

"That's probably a good idea. For what it's worth, if we use the idea of the scale you mentioned, you're right that I am on the opposite end. I could never involve myself in a friends-with-benefits situation because of the emotional attachment I need to someone to be vulnerable like that. I think that was one of the things that was pretty obvious with us, but we were in our first relationship and going in blind because neither one of us had any role models for proper relationships really. I never felt emotionally close enough to you to let you that close to me physically. You kept too much of yourself hidden from me. I went into the relationship doubting whether you actually found me attractive because it took you so long to express any interest in me, despite my actually telling you that I liked you. That should have been a real red flag for us. After you came back at the end of the summer and you still didn't find me sexually attractive, even after we had been boyfriends for over 5 months, that should have been an alarm bell going off in your head that we weren't good to be together that way. You were trying to force yourself to find me attractive. That's not really the way things work. By 7 months in, we hadn't even French kissed. A blaring foghorn of lack of sexual incompatibility."

"And this is me being nosy. You and Sebastian?"

"Not even a full day of dating before we had French kissed."

"I see."

"Read more of the articles on that website. They're really interesting. They talk about different types of love and I found it really interesting. Maybe you will too. From what I learned, I think you loved me platonically – as a friend. And I loved you that way too, but I also felt romantic love for you. But your hesitance made me keep that love guarded. Since you didn't like me as a potential boyfriend at first, once you did I was always trying to make sure I was doing the right things to keep you loving me. Like I wasn't good enough unless I was being perfect. I had to look right, walk right, talk right, and be good enough to be your boyfriend. I think that's the one thing that really kept me from having a fit when you went ahead and read for Tony. I was up in the lookover. I watched you audition. My heart broke when you agreed to read for the part. I walked away and couldn't bear to watch any longer. But I put myself back together and supported you because I didn't want to lose your love over a part in a play."

"You said that you didn't think I would have done the same. I thought about it after you said that to me. You're right. If you had told me that you wouldn't audition for a role against me and then you did – and you got the role instead of me, I wouldn't have been supportive. I would have been angry that you didn't keep your word. I think you should have been angry. I shouldn't have agreed to not audition OR I shouldn't have agreed to read that day. Being a man of my word is important to being an adult. If people can't trust a man to keep his word, then his reputation is ruined. And I shouldn't have expected you to be okay with the outcome when I had gone back on my word."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"That's the closest you've come to actually apologizing."

"Oh."

"That might be a good topic of conversation with the counselor as well. What prevents you from actually apologizing when you're in the wrong?"

"I'll add it to my list. Can I see your phone again for a minute? That website – I want to keep it."

Kurt pulled the website back up. Blaine took a photo of the page so he could look it up later.

"Look, I'm not angry with you anymore. I'm glad we aren't together anymore. Our relationship wasn't what you needed. It wasn't what I needed. How it ended still bothers me, but the fact that it's over doesn't bother me. I'm happy now."

"Hey, gorgeous." Sebastian plopped down on the couch next to Kurt. "I thought you were going to study in my room, but I love hearing that you're happy now. Hey, Blaine."

"Hey. Thanks for the information. I'll let you get back to studying." Blaine got up and went back to his room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, that talk?" Sebastian asked after they were back in his room.

"Not a secret, but I don't want to talk about it now. I just want to cuddle up for a bit before I have to leave." Kurt slipped his shoes off and scooted up on Sebastian's bed.

"I have a better idea."

"Oh, really?"

"You could shower with me before you go."

"I can, if that's what you want."

He reached out for Kurt, who got back up and let himself be led to the bathroom.

"Your shower isn't really built for two…"

"We'll fit," he laughed. He started to slip Kurt's hoodie off.

Kurt finished the process so his cast wouldn't get caught. "I'm so looking forward to getting this thing off."

They finished undressing and got in the shower.

"Definitely a shower made for one person," Kurt said, as he and Sebastian stood face to face, touching all the way down their torsos."

"But it's cozy. And I like being this close to you."

Kurt laughed. "Let's actually shower if we're going to stand here getting wet."

"Kisses?"

"Of course, lots of kisses." He turned them so that Sebastian's back was against the side wall, and leaned against him and kissed him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian walked him down to the Navigator. "I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for coming to watch me play today. That was a really great surprise. I'm glad you came."

"Me too. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I'll text when I'm in the parking lot or if I'm not going to make it for dinner, I'll text at 6:15." Kurt kissed him. "I love you." He hit the unlock on his remote and opened the door and climbed in. He put his satchel in the seat next to him.

Sebastian stepped between the seat and the door and leaned in and kissed Kurt. "I love you too." He stepped back and closed the door. Kurt backed up and pulled out of his spot. He watched Sebastian head back to the building and up the stairs before he pulled out of the lot.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He got to Mrs. Sutherlin's house before 10:00, which was what he had agreed to. He grabbed his satchel, and then opened the back, got his suitcase out, and headed up to the front door. He thought about all of the lessons he had done with Matt on presenting himself in a neutral way. He didn't figure that Carole's friend was homophobic since Carole had suggested that he stay with her, but just to be on the safe side, he figured neutral was best.

She opened the door. "You must be Kurt. Come on in. It's nice to meet you. I'm Trina. Carole always says such nice things about you." She shut the door behind him.

"She's a sweetheart. Thank you for letting me stay here tonight."

"Oh, you're welcome. She said you had a huge day of testing all day tomorrow, starting early."

"She's right. I have to be at the testing center at 8:00. So, I'll be leaving at 7:30, to allow for traffic. I would have had to leave Lima at 6:00 in the morning. This way, hopefully I'll be more rested and I can review when I get up instead of drive for 90 minutes."

"Let me show you to the guest room. It has it's own bathroom. When you leave in the morning, if I'm not down here, just turn the lock on the doorknob before you pull the door closed when you leave." He followed her upstairs.

"I'll do that."

"Here's the room. I hope you do well on your tests tomorrow."

"So do I. Thanks again."

"Any time, Kurt."

He reviewed and waited until 11:00 to text Sebastian and went right to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt decided to leave a little earlier and stopped by a McDonald's and ordered an Egg McMuffin, a large coffee, a vegetarian salad, and a bottle of water so he wouldn't have to leave the testing center at lunchtime, which would allow him to get done a little earlier.

He signed in, took his place at the computer, and began taking the tests. Most of the tests were recertifications, but there were four that he was taking for the first time. He stopped after the test that ended at 12:30, ate this salad, and resumed the tests at 1:00. At 4:30, he finally finished and he moved to the waiting area to receive his results.

About 10 minutes later, the receptionist called his name and he went up to the counter. She handed him a printout of his results.

"I passed them all," he stated hesitantly.

"You did. You'll get your official certificate in the mail in about 6 weeks, but you can use that print out as proof until then, if you need it. If you need more than one official certificate, you can go on the ASE website where you signed up for the specific tests for today and you can input your user name and ID and order more copies. You can also order the appropriate patches or badges for your uniform from the website."

"Thank you."

"Congratulations."

Kurt nodded. He picked the paper up and headed out to the Navigator and stored the paper in one of his school folders to keep it safe.

He headed back to Dalton and texted Sebastian when he got to the parking lot at 5:30. Sebastian was outside the front door looking for him before he even managed to get his suitcase out of the back. He shut the hatch and hit the lock on his remote. Sebastian was halfway to the Navigator by then. He jogged the rest of the way and took the suitcase from Kurt.

"I'm glad you're back."

"Me too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt put his satchel on Sebastian's desk, but kept hold of the folder he had put the test results in. "I have something to show you." He pulled the test results out and handed the sheet to Sebastian.

"You passed all of these tests. When did you… wait, the date says today. You just did this?"

"I did. I didn't actually go back to Lima last night. I went to Carole's friend Trina's house – the one that she visits when she goes back and forth to DC. And I got up this morning and went to the testing center."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, I'm surprised. Congratulations!"

"The thing that isn't marked on that paper is now that I passed those four new tests, I'm considered a Master Technician for automobiles and light trucks, plus Master Technician for Truck Equipment. I won't have to retake any of the tests for 5 years."

"Master Technician – does that mean pay raise?"

"Maybe not at my dad's shop. I'm not sure whether he will give me a raise or not, but it means that I'll make more working from now on."

He laid the printout on the desk and snapped a photo of it with his camera. He used the edit feature to blur out some of his personal info and then he texted the photo to Burt. He put the paper back in the folder.

Sebastian hugged him. "You're amazing. Really. We should go out and celebrate."

"We can do that if you want. Or we can go downstairs and eat and go out at some point this weekend. Maybe Nick and Jeff have some free time and we could all go out."

"I'll text them to see when they're eating."

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian's torso and pulled him close and kissed him. They kissed until Sebastian's phone pinged with a response. He pulled back to see what it said.

"They're heading down now."

"Alright, let's go."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, how is your coming out slowly plan working?" Kurt asked quietly.

"So far, so good. No one has hassled us. We've been sitting together in Warbler meetings. We've walked through the halls hand in hand and we've been sitting closer like we are now."

"I'm glad no one is hassling you," Kurt said.

"So, now you're staying tonight and tomorrow night?"

"Yep. We were wondering if you two have time to go out and do something fun, maybe Sunday?"

"I think so. We have some homework to do, but we can get it done by tomorrow night if we focus," Nick said.

"What did you have in mind," Jeff asked.

"Nothing really. I didn't plan anything because I was really busy all week studying for school and for the tests I took all day today. I didn't have time to plan anything."

"If you're going to come and spend the weekends, we could plan to go to Cleveland one of those weekends and we can stay at my house," Jeff said. "You two can stay in my sister's room since it's empty."

"That could be fun. Neither of us has ever been to Cleveland," Kurt said.

Nick said, "Well, then we'll plan a weekend for all of us to go. So, you'll be coming every other weekend?"

"Yeah, but Sebastian's lacrosse game is in the afternoon on Saturdays. Maybe we should plan a trip to Cleveland once school gets out. We could stay for a few days. It would be warm then. We could go to a beach, if there are any."

"There are beach areas. We could do that," Nick said.

"Have you guys gotten acceptance letters from anywhere yet?" Kurt asked.

"We've pretty much decided that we're going to go to OSU. We're just waiting on acceptance letters," Nick said.

"Then we won't be too far away," Sebastian said.

"Where are you going?" Jeff asked.

"Cincinnati. Don't say anything to anyone yet. We haven't told anyone except Kurt's parents. No one at McKinley knows."

"We won't say anything to anyone," Nick said.

"We have a TV in our room, we could watch a movie tomorrow evening after dinner and we could go out somewhere on Sunday," Jeff said.

"Sure. We can eat dinner together and then go up to your room," Kurt said.

"Sunday?" Sebastian asked. "Ideas?"

"Well, since we're not from Columbus, so I don't really have a suggestion, but we could look up places and then talk about them tomorrow evening and just pick one of them," Nick said.

"That's fine," Kurt said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

On their way out of the cafeteria, Sebastian said, "Let's go for a walk. It won't get dark for over an hour."

"Okay."

"Let's go up and I'll change really quick."

Sebastian changed back into the lacrosse hoodie, a pair of jeans, and his Vans. He grabbed his jacket and was ready to go. Kurt opened his suitcase and took out a jacket and put it on and opened the door. Sebastian took Kurt's hand after he locked his door. They headed out to the grounds to go for a walk.

"I liked studying out in these gardens, but I was only here for about a month after it got warm enough to do it."

"I'm sure it's a struggle for you to be here sometimes with all of the questions of how things might have been different if you had stayed. I'd probably feel that way if I went back to my old school to visit people. Caught between what could have been and what is."

"You're right. It's strange. But a big part of why it's so different is because I'm different. I'm not that terrified guy I was last year when I came here. If I had come here under different circumstances, I think last year would have been completely different."

"Blaine?"

"Yes. If I hadn't felt so incredibly alone and afraid when I got here, I would have been much more likely to join things. Also, I was so far behind in my classes that initially I didn't have time to be in anything except the Warblers. If I had just started at the beginning of the fall semester last year, I would have been in a completely different place. No terror and no absolute panic about my grades. If I had just been any ordinary new student, Blaine wouldn't have felt the need to be my personal Dalton guru. If I had just shown up on my own and started classes, we would have only met in the Warblers and that's it. He would have just been another blazer-clad prep school boy, not the object of my crazed crush. He wouldn't have taken me out for coffee every day, and I wouldn't have mistaken those trips to the coffee shop as dates."

"And when I showed up this fall, you would have been one of the Warblers who might have fallen for my Parisian manwhore façade."

"Maybe. Or maybe we would have met in French class at the beginning of the year because I would have been in the advanced class with you. Maybe we could have gotten paired as partners and I would have figured out your ruse."

"A myriad of possibilities."

"Yep. And while I'm not proud of a lot of the choices I made, I did learn from at least some of the mistakes I've made in the past year. So, that has to count for something. And I have you, which is the best thing that's happened to me in as long as I can remember."

"Ever."

"Ever?"

"You're the best thing to happen to me ever." Sebastian lifted Kurt's hand and kissed his knuckles.

"I know what I forgot to tell you yesterday. Wednesday we each got a letter from the university in the mail. I brought them with me. We can open them when we go back to your room. Are you sure this is what you want? I don't want to give up Paris if you've changed your mind."

"I'm sure – really sure. But I do want to take you to Paris sometime."

"I'd love that. I've wanted to go there for a long time. Have you told your mother that you're not coming back when school gets out?"

"No. I don't know what to say to her. I actually need to go back and see my father again. I talked to Hiram and Mr. Maddox about it."

"Oh?"

"I need to tell him the truth of what happened with the money he sent. When we were there that day, he asked what I meant that I had been working for 7 years. After I thought about it, I wondered if he had been sending my mother cash still to pay for things like clothing or food for the months I was out of school. I know it doesn't matter now, but I want to know. I also thought back to times he said things like, "You won't get another penny from me until you give up your sinful lifestyle."

"Which sort of implies that he had been sending money as well as paying your school bills."

"Right. I also need to know how the actual ownership of the flat is written up legally. Is it my mother's? Is it mine when I turn a certain age? Is it mine if she dies, like it would be through regular French inheritance laws? Or does it revert to him upon her death? Or upon mine, should I die before he does? Was it written into the trust fund that I'll never get? If it's written up so that the flat becomes mine upon high school graduation or something, I need to know that. If it's hers indefinitely, I need to know that as well. What if it's written up that I get it upon receiving the trust fund, but that if I violate the terms of the trust fund, it reverts to him? Maybe that's why my mother was so insistent that I come."

"I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. When are you going to go see him?"

"I hate to bother Hiram on a weekend, but going during the week is hard because of school. He says it's fine. I had considered going on a Sunday morning and just showing up again."

"It's probably a good time to catch him at home. I doubt anyone holds political get-togethers on Sunday mornings. Does he go to church?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Probably just on holidays."

"Well, if you want to go on a Sunday morning, I'll go with you. We could even go this Sunday morning, if Hiram is free."

"I can text him and find out. It's not that late." Sebastian sent him a text.

"I'm not expecting the flat to be mine, if that's what you're thinking."

"I didn't figure it would. Your dad seems pretty determined that you not inherit anything."

"I agree. I don't see a situation where I will end up with the flat since my father hates me, but there's still the issue of whether to give my mother time to find a new place to live, but knowing in advance would give her time to trash the place."

"It's a complicated situation."

Sebastian's phone pinged. "I guess we're meeting there at 9:00 Sunday morning. My father will hate being surprised again. I'm going anyway."

"I'll go with you. Hopefully, you can get it all settled. I guess you need to think about your reactions to the possible outcomes. I mean you probably already have since you said you had been talking to Hiram and Mr. Maddox."

"The most complicated outcome is that it becomes mine upon graduation because my mother is still living there and me trying to evict her will be tough. But I don't know if I can afford to pay anything toward the flat's upkeep for years on end. But it seems like a bad choice to sell it if keeping it is an option, since I would like to go back sometime."

"If it becomes yours, financially it would make more sense to go back and live in the flat at no cost except the utilities and taxes or whatever and go to college for free."

"I guess that's a possibility, but I don't actually know any information to even make a guess about those types of costs. That's why I had talked to Hiram. After getting through the shock of my father disowning me and the adjustment period of living with your family, things have settled down. And now the other issues started coming to mind. I'm happy with you. My life is on an even keel. I'm working. School's going fine. But I still feel like I left things unresolved with him. I'm no longer feel any pressure to make him like me or try to get him to accept me. I just want to clear the air and settle what needs settled."

"Makes sense."

"I'm curious about those letters. Let's go back inside."

"Not just yet."

Sebastian turned and looked at Kurt.

"There's something I want to do first." Kurt led him around a bend. Kurt double-backed and walked back in the direction they had come from, but down a sort of alley between rows of hedges. "This section isn't visible from the school because the end of this area is hedged in with no breaks along the edges of the courtyard. It's a really good place to bring a book and something to sit on if you want to read in peace. And if you want to kiss your boyfriend without anyone seeing you." Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian and turned his head and laid it on Sebastian's shoulder. "You can hold me. My back isn't hurting much at all anymore. Carole's been putting the ointment on it for me still, well until yesterday. Hold me please?"

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt. "I'll put it on for you tonight and the rest of the weekend like I did in DC."

Kurt pulled back just enough to be able to kiss Sebastian. They stood trading gentle kisses back and forth for several minutes. "I should be all back to 100% in a month when we go to the Smoky Mountains. You still want to go, right?"

"I do. Of course, I do. I love spending time with you."

"We can do something different if you'd rather."

"I thought this was all decided. Why the waffling?"

"I don't want to make you feel like you have to do something. I know you're still worried about money and college and I don't want you to spend money on something if you're not really that interested in going. We can stay home and save up and go next year."

"I want to go. The trip isn't what's been bothering me."

"Maybe I can tell my dad we don't want a party and he'll just give me the $200 and we can use to cover some of our travel expenses."

"We'll keep that as a possibility."

"Alright." Kurt kissed him again. "Let's go inside, like you said."

"I like the kisses in the garden. This is one thing I would miss going back to Paris."

"What?"

"Privacy. I was talking to Mr. Maddox about how things here are spaced so far apart that you have to have a car to get any shopping done. I thought about it afterwards. I like the ease of everything being close by, but the space is also nice because there's a lot of privacy here. In rural areas, there are so many places you can just be outside and be alone with nature or be with just one person. In Paris, that's nearly impossible. There are people everywhere all the time. Millions of people in a small space. I actually looked it up. Paris is not quite three times the land space of Lima, but there are 60 times as many people living in that space. The population density is so much higher. Imagine 60 times as many people living in Lima. It's crowded. And noisy. It's really quiet here."

"I think Cincinnati will be in the middle – a lot noisier than Lima or Westerville, but not as noisy as Paris. We'd be able to do shopping using public transportation, but it won't be as efficient as Paris. No subway, just city buses. More things to do and see, more people around."

"Let's get going back inside. I don't want caught out past the hedges after dark. I'm not going to break any rules, especially when you're here because I want you to be able to come back every other weekend. If I get demerits while you're here, the school might refuse my requests for you to stay."

"Come on then. No demerits for you." Kurt gave him one last kiss and loosened his hold on Sebastian. He took his hand instead. "Let's go. I grabbed a couple of books at the library from the new releases table. They're in my suitcase. We can each read one or we can read one together if you want."

"You're such a nerd." Sebastian squeezed Kurt's hand.

"Takes one to know one." Kurt stuck his tongue out at Sebastian.

"We'll get to that later," Sebastian teased.

"You have one track mind."

"Mostly when you've been holding me close and we've been kissing."

"Right…"

Sebastian stopped. Kurt startled a bit at the suddenness. "Am I being pushy?"

Kurt stepped in front of him and ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "No, Bas, you're not. You never have been. I love you. Let's go back to your room." Kurt took his spot next to Sebastian again and starting walking toward the building. They went inside and back upstairs.

Sebastian unlocked his door and Kurt stepped inside. Sebastian locked the door behind them.

Kurt turned and pushed Sebastian against the door gently. "You're never pushy. I was teasing in the lines of 'it takes one to know one' banter we had going. I figured you'd counter my statement about your one-track mind with 'pot calling the kettle black' or something. But I need to remember that you're still not quite used to being teased in English. And I shouldn't say things in a teasing way if I'm not sure that you know that I'm teasing." He closed the small space between them and kissed Sebastian, quickly licking at his lower lip and pressing to deepen the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's okay, remember? You can wrap your arms around me now."

Sebastian moved his hands from Kurt's waist to wrapping them around his back with his hand up near Kurt's shoulder blades, holding him close. "Okay?"

"Definitely. Just to be clear, I absolutely melt at the thought that you WANT to touch me. I enjoy every touch. We said we'd communicate. If you're ever smothering me with affection and touch and I need some space for a few minutes, I'll tell you. And I hope you'll do the same. Please touch me. It's the most amazing feeling. I love you so much." Kurt started humming "Fever" and slid his hands down to slip Sebastian's jacket off his shoulders causing him to lean away from the door enough to let the jacket slide down. Kurt put the jacket on the desk. He slipped his right hand up under Sebastian's hoodie and ran it along his chest. He slid his hand down and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. All the while, he was still humming.

"You are a lot of fun, _mon étoile_." He slipped his hands to the front of Kurt's shirt, only to have them batted away.

"I thought this was my song to do a strip tease for you while undressing you."

"Mmm." Sebastian started kissing up Kurt's neck. "Can't help it if I like unwrapping you."

Kurt's mind flashed back to the hotel in Cincinnati when Sebastian had said that he was like a fancy gift all wrapped up. He smiled and moved Sebastian's hands back to the placket on his shirt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I wanted to come back inside to read the letters and then I got distracted by the wonderful kissing and the touching."

"Mmm hmm. Which led to showering and more kissing and more touching."

"And now we're in bed still kissing and touching and the letters are still unread."

Kurt laughed and kissed him. "You're free to get out of bed to go get them."

"But they're way across the room…"

Kurt laughed. "I can climb over you and get out of the bed and go get them."

Sebastian moved his leg and put it over the top of Kurt's and pinned his lower half to the bed.

"Letters shmetters, they'll still be there later."

"I really do want to know what they say."

Sebastian rolled back carefully and stood up. "Where are they?"

"In my satchel."

Sebastian opened it and took them out.

"You could bring the book that you want to read back with you or are you planning on us lying here kissing for the next few hours?"

He looked at the books Kurt had put on the desk when he got into his suitcase before they showered. He grabbed two throw pillows out of his chair and tossed them to Kurt, who fluffed the bed pillow and added the two throw pillows and leaned against them and held the covers up for Sebastian to sit down next to him. Sebastian handed Kurt the books and he put them between his leg and the wall.

"Here's yours. Let's see what they say."

They opened the letters and read through them.

"Oh! Excellent."

"It's approved. I was getting worried that it wasn't going to be. That was part of my big concern about money. Without this waiver, I was going to have to borrow money for next school year."

"My dad would have offered to help you, you know?"

"Same thing. I wouldn't have had the ability to do it myself. Now, I think I can."

"I might be able to do it on my own too, but I'm going to let my dad help without causing a ruckus. Carole finally drilled it into my head that I was upsetting my dad a lot by refusing to let him help. So, I'm just going to let it go. Once school is done, I will do it all on my own. I'm not going to take away something from my dad that he wants to do. If we make more than we need, we can save it."

"That's true. So, next weekend we can actually really do it. We can sign a lease somewhere and really start planning."

Kurt turned and kissed him. "This is what you want, right?"

"Yes. I just want to study something I can get a job doing and be with you. Getting to be with you is the good and important part. I was going to study finance in Paris. I can study it anywhere. It's a practical field with jobs available in all types of businesses. Every business needs people to do their books and keep their money matters under control. But getting to be with you while I study, that's still in the slightly unbelievable category, but I'm getting better at not panicking and feeling like someone's going to dump a glass of cold water over my head and wake me from a most awesome dream."

"Are you going to be okay with my dad helping us?"

"Yes. As weird as that seems considering what I just said, I guess I am used to having school bills paid by a father figure. It won't make me think less of you for letting him help and I'll do my best to not feel like a leech or whatever. I'm not going to alienate the only adults who've ever cared about me at all over wanting to help us. If your parents want to help, then I won't fight them on it. I'm not going to ask anyone for money if I can avoid it, but I won't make an issue out of them doing something nice for us."

"So, we've come to the same conclusion." Kurt turned toward Sebastian and gently turned his face and kissed him. "So, next weekend we go on a real apartment hunt and maybe we'll find one we really like."

"I hope so. We should tell your dad too since he wrote letters for both of us in the process of getting the waivers."

"I'm actually going to text Carole." Kurt got out of the bed to get his phone. "I texted my dad the results of my tests earlier and I didn't get a reply, which is unusual." He picked the letters up and put them on the desk, and then sent off a quick text and brought the phone back with him to the bed. "So, one of these books or something else? I have my laptop in my suitcase too. We could watch a movie. Or we can just snuggle and talk, which seems to be our most frequent pastime."

"That's because you're interesting to talk to and fun to snuggle." Sebastian kissed his shoulder. "But let me see the books. I think it would be fun to read the same book this time. Then we can talk about the book too." He read through the synopsis in each book. "How about this one?"

"Sure."

"Should I put that cream on your back now?"

"You can."

"Okay. Turn over and lie on your stomach. I'll get it from the bathroom." Sebastian brought the tube back and very carefully rubbed the cream into the areas of Kurt's back that were still bruised and then put the tube next to the bed on the floor with the two books that didn't get chosen. "Next weekend, bring your regular lotion and I'll give you a massage."

"Oh, I brought some. It's just in a travel bottle. No label, red flip-top cap."

Sebastian went back into the bathroom and found it and put it on top of the books with the bruise cream. "I'm glad you're getting better. It broke my heart to see you all banged up like that." Sebastian got in bed, straddled Kurt, sat down, and started kissing up Kurt's arm. "I don't want anyone to ever touch you again. I never knew I could feel that enraged. I never knew I could care about someone so much." He kissed down the center of Kurt's back.

Kurt wiggled a bit and Sebastian sat up. Kurt flipped himself over and reached out for Sebastian and grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down until he was close enough to kiss. He was still propped on his forearms, keeping his weight off of Kurt.

"Lie down. I think it will be fine. If it hurts, I'll tell you."

Sebastian grabbed the covers and pulled them up and then relaxed down on top of Kurt. He slid his arms under Kurt's shoulders and Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian, who kissed him gently. "I'm glad you came this weekend."

"Me too."

Sebastian relaxed and turned his head and laid down the rest of the way with his head on the pillow. Kurt ran his hand along Sebastian's back gently. After a few minutes, Sebastian scooted to the side and encouraged Kurt to turn and be the little spoon for the first time in a long time. Sebastian had been the little spoon since Kurt's back had been bruised so badly.

"I've missed holding you like this, even though I love it when you hold me. I like to take turns."

"I missed it too. I'm a snuggle-aholic. I blame you for this condition," he laughed.

"Well, I think it's contagious and I caught it from you. You hugged me first and infected me."

Kurt laughed. "You're right. You're absolutely right. It's entirely my fault. I must have had a dormant version. I hugged you and it triggered me to infect you and go active in me."

Sebastian kissed the back of his neck and along his shoulder. They stayed snuggled up and talked for a couple of hours about nothing and everything.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt's phone pinging with a text startled the two of them. Kurt picked his phone up to see who it was. Burt had finally seen Kurt's text and replied. Within seconds his phone was ringing and Kurt answered.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, kiddo. Sorry I missed your call earlier. We went out to a movie with Finn and Rachel, and then we went to a late dinner at the Berry's. I turned my ringer off in the theater and then forgot to turn it on. I realized it when I went to charge it. I'm real proud of you, Kurt. You didn't tell me that you had been studying for the truck tests. Now, I'm going to have to pay you more. Master Technician. You did good."

"Thanks."

"Hiram took me aside when we got to their house and told me about going to Robert's house on Sunday. Carole and I are going to go with him. We want to be there for Sebastian."

"Okay. He's here with me and he can probably hear what you're saying. He just wants to settle everything in case there's anything left to be settled."

"I get that. We'll be there. Carole says 'Congratulations!' on passing all of those tests."

"Tell her 'Thank you.' for me. She knew I was going, but she kept my secret so I could surprise you. Trina was very nice to let me stay with her."

"I won't keep you on the phone. If there's anything else I think of, I'll text you. We're headed off to bed. We're old fogies these days."

"Yeah, yeah, Dad. You're not old yet. You're not old until I'm middle-aged. I guess we'll see you Sunday morning, then. 'Night."

"'Niight, kiddo."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"If you don't want them to come, we can call them or text them tomorrow and tell them not to."

"It's not that I DON'T want them to come. I don't want them to feel OBLIGATED to come. Hiram will be there, so I doubt my father would start in on the anti-gay rhetoric in full, even though he doesn't know that Hiram is gay. He's just generally less of a jackass about it if other people are around. He's not less opinionated, he's just kinder with his mean words."

"As if saying mean things using nicer words hurts less." Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Ah, but nicer words don't make you look terrible to your constituents."

"I see your government class is increasing your political vocabulary in English."

"It most certainly has. I think it's time to sleep. We'll read tomorrow. I just want to snuggle more. You can read one of the other two books while I hold you, if you want. I've just missed holding you for like a month. We've been together just over two months now. An awesome two months, but half of that I didn't get to snuggle you. I'm snuggle deprived."

"I snuggled you a ton during that month."

"Which I enjoyed every second of. He kissed Kurt's shoulder. But now, I get to be the one to kiss your neck and your shoulders and trace patterns on your chest. Hand me your phone and the book we were going to read. I'll put them over here on the floor."

"No need. I'm going to the bathroom and then leaving my pajama pants on your desk and double-checking the lock. I'm not sleeping with pants on with you in the bed."

"Good point." Sebastian left his on the desk too.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, Kurt checked his phone for texts and messages since he had set it to silent before they had gone to sleep. There was a long text from Carole.

To Kurt: We will be coming to Dalton to watch Sebastian play. Meet us at the front of the building at 4:00 so you can show us where to go. Afterwards, we want to take the two of you out to dinner. We're spending the night at Trina's to avoid having to drive back to Lima and back to Columbus Sunday morning. Burt is SUPER proud of you that you made Master Technician. See you at 4:00. Don't tell Sebastian. It's a surprise.

Kurt switched to his settings and switched to Wi-Fi and started looking at places in Columbus to do something fun the next afternoon. Sebastian came out the bathroom and climbed back in bed with him.

"This bed is more comfortable with you in it." He leaned over to Kurt and kissed him.

"That's not possible, you know."

"Of course it is. You're magical. Just add Kurt and everything is better."

"You are a sweetheart. I think it might be the other way though. I sleep better with you in the bed."

"Our bed at home is still the most comfortable bed ever, though."

"We'll have to talk Dad into letting us take it to Cincinnati."

"Definitely. What are you searching for so diligently?"

"We're supposed to be coming up with ideas for something fun to do in Columbus tomorrow with Nick and Jeff."

"Right. So, what have you found?"

"Nothing really yet. You started kissing me and complimenting me and I lost my focus."

"I'll try to refrain from distracting you, but no promises. We are in a bed together in just our underwear. You look all sorts of hot and it's hard to keep my hands and lips to myself."

Kurt laughed. "It is still dark outside, so, I suppose the research could wait a while OR we could turn the lamp off and look at websites."

"Hmm. This sounds like a trick question."

"Trick question?"

"Where's the third option? Keeping the lamp on and NOT looking at websites?"

"Oh, I see. The option where we make out and don't keep our hands and lips to ourselves?"

"Exactly. I like that option."

Kurt handed Sebastian his phone so he could put it on the floor, and then said, "Lie down in the center of the bed and I won't keep my hands or lips to myself."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Remember back when you were concerned that you might not be any good at these types of things?"

Kurt didn't answer, but looked embarrassed.

"You are amazing."

"I'm not sure what to say to that. I'm glad you think so, though. I have no intention of demonstrating my techniques to anyone else, so yours is the only opinion that matters. I just want to make you feel good."

"Well, it feels a lot more than just good. It feels fantastic. Now, it's my turn."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They eventually got up and Kurt surprised Sebastian with a loaf of homemade carrot raisin bread that he had stowed away in his suitcase.

Sebastian put the bruise cream on Kurt again and they piled the pillows up on the bed afterwards. Sebastian leaned against the pillows and Kurt leaned against him. They managed to get into a comfortable position where they could both read the book Sebastian had chosen the night before.

A little after noon, they got dressed and headed down to the dining hall and ate lunch. Kurt managed to text Jeff when Sebastian wasn't looking, letting him know that they wouldn't be in the dining hall for dinner and that he would let them know when they were back from going out with his parents so they could watch a movie.

After lunch, they used Sebastian's laptop to research places in Columbus to go to the next day. They were trying to find something fun or interesting that wasn't very expensive.

Kurt scanned the VISIT page of the art museum's website. "The Columbus Museum of Art has free admission on Sundays. Let's go there."

"That would work. We had a good time when we went to the art museum in Toledo."

"That was an awesome day," Kurt said.

"I bet Columbus has a decent collection of stuff. And none of us has been there, so it should be fun."

"Next weekend when you're home, I want to look through your photos from DC and pick a few and print them and put them in the new frames I got."

"Okay." Sebastian shut his laptop down and put it on the floor.

"I'd like to make a poster like the ones I made of your Paris photos for the places we've gone – maybe one large on like these or maybe smaller ones or maybe a combination. You're a really good photographer and it would be cool to decorate our new apartment with your original photos."

"Alright. I never really considered whether I was any good at it or not, but thank you."

"There has to be room for electives in the program you're in for college. Maybe you could take photography. Something else useful might be website design. It could improve your chances of getting a job someplace, especially a smaller company. You could do the financial stuff, as well as a bit of marketing with photographing whatever it is that the company does and making an attractive website to draw in customers."

"Good ideas. I'm pretty sure a marketing class is on the list of requirements. I haven't really decided which part of finance to specialize in. But having a wide variety of skills will make me more employable. I hadn't considered the photography class though. Maybe a class in graphic design for another elective."

"That would be good too. Like my dad's shop – I made a Facebook page for him and added a few photos of the guys who work there actually working, but the photos aren't professional quality or anything close to it because I used my phone. But they're better than nothing and the internet presence has helped. People have said, 'I saw the Facebook page and brought my car here.' But a lot of companies need something better than a Facebook page to explain what they do."

"I'm sure there are a lot of smaller businesses that don't have the resources to hire a separate person to do it and they just hire someone to do a website, but those websites are pretty much the same as you making the Facebook page. They don't have a lot of information and they don't get updated often because the company probably has to pay for the updates. But if I could do that myself, then I'd be a better candidate than someone who can't."

"I've read your papers. You're a good writer. I think you'd be good at making websites."

"Thank you?"

Kurt looked puzzled.

"When you talk like this, I realize how much you think about me and the future. It just reinforces how much you really care."

"Oh. I DO really care." Kurt reached out and took Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers. "I know you're only studying finance and whatever because it's the way you had planned to become financially secure on your own. I was just thinking of ways that you could use your talent and creativity to maybe make your future job more fun for you."

Sebastian kissed him. "Thank you. You amaze me all the time. Your mind is always busy. Planning. Scheming. No, that sounds like you're a villain. Good scheming."

Kurt laughed and Sebastian kissed him again.

"One day soon I'm going to be healed up enough that I can tickle you again and we can horse around again. I miss that. I hate that you're always feeling so on edge and cautious that you might hurt me."

"Am I being an overly cautious ninny?"

"No. I'm just tired of needing to be careful. I hope that when the cast comes off in two weeks that I can regain full use of my wrist and that by the next weekend, I'll be back to normal. I want to be able move and not be in pain anymore. And I want you to be able to touch me normally, like when we wrestled and tickled each other, and horsed around in the bed. I miss that."

"Me too. Have you decided about the Cheerios?"

"I guess if I can just somehow dance and sing, I would do it. I'm not sure if that's possible. I'd only have a few weeks to practice and I'm pretty sure that the doctor won't release me to tumble or fly. So, I guess Coach Sue would have to find out the rules about me just being able to sing and dance and I don't even know how likely that is since they've probably already been working on the song with Santana and Brittany doing the singing, if they're even singing. I haven't gone to any rehearsals since I've been working in the mornings before school. No, it was before that. I haven't gone since I got injured."

"Well, you know I'll support whatever you choose. But I do need to know about it as soon as possible, so I can plan my schoolwork and getting out of school to travel with you."

"You don't really have to do that. I can get Brittany to stay with me. You know, she's your biggest rival." Kurt batted his eyes. "She'd take me back in a heartbeat."

"Nope. She may be a sweetheart and there's no denying that she's really pretty, but unless you're interested in some polyamory thing with Santana, Brittany's no threat to me. Plus, she has all the wrong equipment. Now, Santana, on the other hand, probably has the 'equipment'," he said using finger quotes and then started laughing.

"Oh, my God. No! Nothing involving Santana and her 'equipment'. Ever."

Sebastian was cackling by this point. "The look of utter shock on your face!"

"No, just no."

Sebastian moved and sat on Kurt's lap and put his hands on the wall behind Kurt. He leaned in and kissed up Kurt's neck and spoke quietly in his ear, "My equipment is much better." And then he licked Kurt's ear, causing him to shiver.

"Mmm hmm. I know. I've inspected it very carefully already," he teased.

"I know. You're so very thorough in your inspections. Very enjoyable."

Kurt put his hand under Sebastian's chin and tilted his head so that he could kiss him. It didn't take long before Sebastian had scooted Kurt down in the bed and was lying on top of him and they were making out hot and heavy.

Between kisses, Kurt said, "If you keep that up, I'm going to need to change my clothes before we go to the game."

Sebastian reached for Kurt's pants and asked with his eyes and Kurt nodded.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The alarm on Kurt's phone went off at 3:30. _"Bas, mon joyau, we have to get up. You have to get changed for your game."_

"_Kisses."_

"_You're adorable. You've had lots of kisses. But of course, I'll kiss you. You have to wake up though." _ Kurt kissed him a few times.

Sebastian tried to snuggle in tighter.

Kurt laughed. _"Sebastian, it's 3:35. If you don't get up and get dressed and start walking to the locker room, you're going to be late. I don't think your coach will appreciate the team captain showing up late."_

"_Right. No arriving late."_ He opened his eyes. _"God, you're gorgeous."_ He kissed Kurt one last time and got out of bed. He put his sweatsuit on.

Kurt put his shoes on and slipped his DC hoodie on over his shirt. He grabbed his phone. _"Can I take your camera and try to take some pictures?"_

"_Sure. Let's go. Sorry to rush you out, but you know the door only locks with the key."_

Kurt put the camera into his satchel and straightened his hair up as best he could and followed Sebastian out the door. _"I'll be in the stands cheering for you."_

Sebastian took off practically jogging down the stairs and headed off to the locker room. Kurt went to the front of the building to wait for his parents to get there. He sat on a bench near the front door and waited, his mind jumping from topic to topic. It wasn't long before he saw his dad's truck pulling into the Dalton lot. He stood up and walked toward the parking lot.

It only took a matter of seconds for Burt to wrap Kurt in a gentle hug. "Hey, kiddo."

"Hey, Dad. Sebastian will be really surprised to see you two here."

"We told him that we'd watch him play whenever we could," Carole said.

"I know. It's not that he didn't believe you, like he thought you were lying. But to actually have adults show up to see him, it will surprise him for sure. He's still getting used to the idea of having people who care."

"Honey, we see how much you love him. Of course, we care about him."

"I don't have any idea why you would see him, but if you do, please don't say anything to Blaine or give him death glares, Dad. He and I have settled our issues."

"I actually hadn't even thought about him in a while. I'll be my best behavior and ignore him if possible."

They walked around the side of the building and out to the athletic fields. They were standing along the edge of the field when the team came out, just like Kurt had Thursday evening. Sebastian wasn't looking at the ground this time and he came over to them as soon as he saw them.

"Congratulations on making captain," Burt said and pulled him into a bear hug.

He stepped back and Carole opened her arms and he stepped in to hug her as well. "We're really proud of you, sweetie. We're excited to see you play. I've never seen a lacrosse game."

"Me neither, in person. I've seen them on TV a few times on the sports channels."

"I better get on the field to warm up," Sebastian said. "Thanks for coming." He had a huge smile on his face and he waved as he ran to catch up with the rest of the team.

Kurt, Burt, and Carole found places to sit in the stands. Once the game started, Burt was on his feet yelling just like he did at football games.

"It's like hockey with the ball moving so fast from player to player," Carole said.

"I watch the jerseys to be able to tell when Sebastian has the ball," Kurt said. "He was high scorer in their first game."

Kurt turned the knob on Sebastian's camera to the sports setting. He propped his elbows on his knees, took a deep breath, and pressed the button, which made the camera take 5 quick shots in a row. Kurt repeated the process a few more times during the game in hopes of catching a few decent shots of Sebastian.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"You were awesome." Kurt threw his arms around Sebastian as he came off the field.

"Good job! That's some sport. You don't get much padding for all those sticks flying everywhere," Burt said.

Sebastian laughed. "Yeah, you learn to dodge the sticks pretty quick."

"Congratulations!" Carole said cheerfully. "Kurt said you won the first game as well."

"We did. So, we're off to a good start. We'll see how things go."

"We're going to go out and celebrate. We'll go around front and wait for the two of you. Don't primp forever, Kurt. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, yeah, Dad," Kurt teased. "We'll be out as soon as we can. If you go around the opposite way you can walk through the gardens for a little bit. There are some benches you can sit down on and wait for us."

"We'll do that, honey. See you both in a little bit." Carole led Burt off toward the gardens.

Sebastian stepped closer to Kurt. "I'll just put my sweats on without showering and just shower in my room. Meet me in the hallway."

Kurt went inside the building and around to the locker room hall.

Sebastian followed the team into the locker room. When he got inside, the coach was handing out their letterman jackets. Fortunately for him, he was called last since he was the captain.

"And last, but not least, Sebastian Smythe – this year's captain," the coach said. "Congratulations!" He handed Sebastian his jacket.

"Thanks, Coach."

"You earned it."

Sebastian nodded and took the jacket and headed to his locker. He switched to his sweats and put his pads in the locker and dumped his uniform into the laundry bin and headed out to the hallway.

"You got your letterman jacket."

"I did. I've never had one. It's pretty cool."

"Let's go change to go out."

They hurried up to Sebastian's room and he got in the shower right away. Kurt changed his shirt and picked out clothes for Sebastian to put on to save time. He stuck his phone in his jacket pocket.

Sebastian hurried out and dressed quickly. He tied his shoes up. "Is it dumb to wear the jacket?"

"No. Wear it. I picked a short-sleeved shirt so you could wear it and not get too hot. Put it on and let me take a picture of you in it before we go downstairs."

Sebastian slipped it on and stood in front of the blank part of his wall. He looked genuinely happy and Kurt snapped a couple of shots of him and put the camera on the desk.

"Let's go." Kurt took his phone out and texted Carole that they were headed to the front door.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Oh, sweetie, you got your jacket. I like it. It's got your number and captain on the sleeve. McKinley never orders the patches for the sleeves."

"Yeah, even when they won that division thing last year, the guys never did get patches for that. Coach Sue gave us ours from Nationals the year we won. And I have the one from Regionals this year. I guess I could pay to have them sewn on my jacket. I don't have the right type of machine to do it."

"I wonder if Finn got one or whether the school just didn't order them."

"I suppose you could ask. I think I'd like mine sewn on. I should see who does them. I could bring mine with me and have it done here in Westerville."

Burt changed the subject and asked, "So, where are we eating?"

"Anywhere is fine with us, Dad. Your choice."

"You say that until I choose, and then you say 'no'," he laughed.

Kurt looked at his phone and looked up nearby restaurants. "How about something completely different?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, it looks like a real Mexican restaurant, not a chain or something."

"Sounds perfect. Just direct me on how to get there."

Kurt laughed and they pulled out of the parking lot.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

While they were eating, they discussed the letters that Kurt and Sebastian had gotten.

"I want you to look at a few houses as well. I'd be willing to co-buy something and let the two of you pay the mortgage. I think you two might be happier in a house than in an apartment. I think for the same cost as a tiny apartment, you could probably get a 2-bedroom house with a lot of room. I know that you miss your basement room where you could dance, if you move into a tiny apartment, you'll have to find someplace else to practice. In a house, you'd have room to dance. You can do your laundry while you cook and you won't have to make time in your schedule every week to spend a couple of hours at a laundromat."

"We'll look. I hadn't considered a house at all. But what you said makes sense. If we could find one on one of the bus lines to campus, that would work out really well. Then we could have access to the Navigator if we needed it, but we could also ride to campus. We'll have to do a pros and cons list. You could come with us or meet us there. We're going to go next weekend."

"I'll check my schedule," Burt said.

"I will too," Carole said.

"A house should have a nicer kitchen than most apartments. I know you two enjoy cooking together," Burt said.

"We do," Sebastian responded and smiled.

"I'll call a realtor and get a few viewings set up," Kurt said.

"Good. I know that neither one of you want to go to college for the party life."

"Definitely not," Kurt said.

"I like to go out dancing sometimes, but that's it. I don't know a lot about American college life, but the few movies I've seen make it look like a giant drunken, drug-filled orgy."

"It's been a long time since I was in college, but there was definitely some of that going on then," Carole said.

"No thanks," Kurt said. "One drunken experience is enough for me. And I've been at one high school party with drinking going on and I didn't enjoy it."

"I'm not going to lie and say that I don't like alcohol because I do. But I don't like beer, no offense, Burt. I like a few types of wine and some mixed drinks, but I'm not interested in getting smashed and not knowing what I did the next morning."

"You seem to have quite a bit of experience drinking," Burt said.

"Not much here. In France the legal drinking age is 18. I had a fake ID at 16. But since I was out mostly on my own, and I had to pay for the drinks, which are expensive, I only tried one type of drink an evening, and only occasionally. And I drank it early enough that I had danced it out of my system before I headed out. The clubs I went to are the types of places you want to remain in control of yourself. Unless you wanted to…" he lowered his voice "end up with random hook-ups in the bathrooms."

"I see."

"Which I didn't," Sebastian pointed out. "I'm not that kind of guy. Some people really enjoy that lifestyle. And it's not my place to pass judgment, but it's not for me. But sometimes, just sitting in my room while my mother was living that kind of lifestyle was not how I wanted to spend my evenings. Places like libraries and bookstores are only open until the middle of the evening. I could go out dancing until closer to midnight and hope that my mother and her guest of choice had consumed enough to have finished their business and passed out for a while."

"Oh, sweetie. What a mess."

"I know what happens and I'm not interested in that lifestyle. I want what Kurt and I have. What you two have. I want to be with someone who wants to be with me. Not that lifestyle." Sebastian looked down willing himself not to get too emotional. Kurt put his hand on Sebastian's thigh and traced "I", then the shape of a heart, and then "U" on his leg. Sebastian nodded very slightly.

"So, we'll go look at some apartments and some houses and one or both of you can go with us or meet us in Cincinnati after my lessons, which I haven't gone to in ages. But I only have a few weekends left, so, I'm going to go."

Kurt changed the topic to the lacrosse game and Sebastian perked up. They finished up eating and headed back to Dalton.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Once they were back in his dorm room, Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and put his head on Kurt's shoulder. "Did you see the looks on your parents' face? I think they're really disappointed in me."

"No. That wasn't them being disappointed in you. That was them wondering what kind of mother would put her child in that position. That was them wondering how on earth you turned out to be such a wonderful person given the life you had."

"Really? You don't think they think I'm a bad influence on you or something? Like we'll go off to college and I'll start drinking? And drag you into it? I mean I did try to get you to go to Scandals and I took you to the dance club in Columbus."

"I'm sure. My dad wouldn't be suggesting that we start looking at houses if he thought you were a bad influence and I shouldn't be around you. I'm 99% positive that he's not offering to buy a house with Finn and Rachel." Kurt slipped his hand under the letterman jacket and rubbed his hand up and down Sebastian's back. "Let's go shower and put our pajamas on and head to Nick and Jeff's room. We'll take your throw pillows with us to be more comfortable." He slipped the jacket off of Sebastian's shoulders and hung it on the back of the desk chair. He put his own jacket on the chair as well and undressed and headed into the bathroom.

Sebastian followed him and they showered quickly and put their pajamas on.

"Come here," Kurt said before Sebastian managed to get the door open. Kurt sat the pillows back down on the desk. He opened his arms and Sebastian stepped into the bear hug. "I figured you could use another bear hug. Don't worry that my parents will think something bad about you. Even if you did things that weren't right, you were in a terrible situation. They're not heartless. My dad did some pretty stupid things as a teenager. Ask him sometime."

Sebastian laughed.

"That's better." Kurt pressed his forehead against Sebastian's. "People make mistakes and bad choices. But we have to learn from them and try not to keep making the same bad choices. Puck was at the house all the time before Finn moved out. My dad knows all sorts of things that Puck did, but he's learned and is learning to be a better person. My dad knows that, and he let Puck hang around. Just because you did something like hang out in an 18+ club at 16 isn't going to make my dad reconsider anything about you. Now, if you decide to start hanging out in 21+ places and start drinking, you'll be in for a Papa Hummel intervention."

"Sounds unpleasant."

"It is. That's the point. He'll talk to you. He'll attempt to get you to see the error of your ways and change. He won't just toss you out."

"Okay. I won't do that anyway. I love you. I won't do something to jeopardize that. Going out and getting drunk and potentially ending up doing something I wouldn't do sober could cost me everything. You mean too much to me to even consider it."

"I love you too." Kurt kissed him gently. "Let's get going before all I want to do is kiss you."

"I like that idea."

"Nick and Jeff are waiting for us."

"Right. Let's go."

Kurt picked the throw pillows back up and Sebastian grabbed his regular pillow.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"That was fun. We'll have to consider making that a standing double date with the two of them on the weekends I'm here."

"I agree. It's easier for me to relax around them when you're with me. I already told you that you make everything better."

"So do you." Kurt kissed him. "Let's get comfortable and go to sleep. It's already 10:30. I'm sorry if my internal alarm clock bothers you. It seems like you are probably much more of a night owl than early bird."

"You're right. When I'm alone, I don't fall asleep before 11:00 or 11:30, maybe even later. But when you snuggle me or I snuggle you, I can relax and fall asleep earlier. And when you wake up at 6:00, I'm only a little groggy because I've never been someone who just sat right up and got started on my day. I've always been the type that takes 5-10 minutes to be ready to move. But you are the only alarm clock I've ever liked. You kissing me awake is perfect."

"You want to be the big spoon again?"

"Definitely. We'll still switch, but I want to hold you."

Kurt kissed him gently and turned over so they could get comfortable. Sebastian traced patterns on Kurt's chest and kissed his neck and shoulder and started playing footsie with him. Kurt started laughing.

"I'll behave. I'm trying to."

Kurt turned back over and kissed him. "Clearly you aren't actually sleepy."

"I'm not. I'm a lot of things, but sleepy isn't one of them. Nervous, anxious, tense, afraid, but I'm trying to be courageous. Being with you helps. I guess I realized just how much harder tomorrow was going to be with your parents sitting there too. I wanted everything out in the open, but I didn't really figure on them being there to hear it. You know because I've told you. Not all at once or in order necessarily, but I don't think there's much that will surprise you tomorrow. I want them to like me, not pity me. I don't want them to treat me differently. I know I'm damaged. I never hid that from you. You insisted on polishing me up and loving me anyway. You don't treat me like I'm broken, even though I know I am. Your love has filled a lot of the cracks, but I know there are still a lot left. I'm trying to be the person I want to be."

"Bas, I know. I am too. We're young. It's okay. I'm not expecting you to be a perfect person. But you're MY person. The person I trust to tell things that I would never tell anyone else. You're the first person I would tell something amazing to. You were. I showed you my test results. You're the first person I would go to if I were upset. I love you. Tomorrow, I will do whatever you need me to. I will sit right next to you and hold your hand. Or I will leave the room if you'd rather talk to him alone. Whatever you need from me, I will do it if it's my power to do it. I want to be your person too."

"You are. You have been for a long time. Since before we started dating. I want you to be yourself tomorrow. Be like you always are. You're strong and courageous. Don't let him bully you, even though I'm sure he will try. I wish I could say that he won't, but that would be a lie. Just be who you are. Hold my hand. Stay with me, even if he says to leave."

"I can do that. I WILL do that. He can't possibly say anything to me that I haven't already heard. And what he says will not change how I feel about you – or about us."

"Alright."

Kurt kissed him gently. "I'm going to turn back over. We'll face tomorrow together. Hold me tight and let's try to sleep."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The five of them approached the Smythe residence. Sebastian rang the bell. Lorraine answered the door.

"Sebastian?"

"Please tell my father that I am here and I have a matter to discuss with him. The five us will wait for him in the library." Sebastian stepped in. The other four followed him.

A few minutes later, Robert entered the library. "What is the meaning of this? You made it clear that my role in your life had been terminated. Why have you brought all of these people to my house on a Sunday morning with no forewarning?"

"I haven't come to stir up trouble. I actually came to clear things up. You asked me a couple of questions the last time I was here and I didn't answer. The fact that you asked them caused me to question things. So, I've come to talk. Can you please just sit down and talk?"

"Alright. Can I offer any of you something to drink?"

"I think we're all fine, Father. If someone needs something at some point, they'll ask."

Robert shut the doors to the library and sat down in a chair across from where Sebastian and Kurt were sitting, holding hands.

"I'm sure you remember, Burt Hummel."

Robert nodded.

"This is my wife, Carole."

"Robert Smythe."

She nodded.

Robert cut in, "And Hiram Berry, the Hummel's attorney. And Kurt, Burt's son. Please move on with what you came to ask or tell me."

"You asked why I had been working for the past 7 years, but I didn't answer because the answer seemed obvious to me, but afterwards I thought about it. Maybe you didn't actually know."

"Well, I don't."

"I think you know a very different version of my life than the real one."

"You're being very cryptic. What is it that I don't know?"

"Probably everything. The question is also what is it that I don't know? So, you tell me your version of my life."

"Your mother and I had a fling when I was on a trip to France that I had received as a gift for graduating from law school. A few months after I came back, she told me that she was pregnant. I agreed to help her with any medical bills, but that I wouldn't pay anything else until I had proof that you were my child. Once the paternity test came back positive, I bought your mother a flat in Paris out of my trust fund. I began sending her child support and I paid for you to have an American nanny. I wanted you to grow up speaking English as well as French, on the off chance that you would one day want to come here and live with me."

"Well, that part matches what I know, except that she never mentioned you having any interest in me living with you until the end of last summer. Go on."

"So, I sent her child support and I paid for you to have a nanny until you were 6, when you would be old enough to go to school."

Sebastian interrupted. "Please explain what you mean by child support for this portion of my life."

"I sent her $500 a month in addition to paying for the nanny, which I was told was $1000 a month, which seemed more than reasonable for someone who lived with you full-time."

"Alright. The reality of what happened from birth to age 6 was that my mother arranged for au pairs to live in the second bedroom of the flat at no cost, but without pay. The au pair's duties were to care for me from dinner until after breakfast. They were all female American students living in Paris. Rent in Paris is quite high and being able to live somewhere for free is like making close to $1000 a month. During the first two years, she also had a French babysitter who came in during the day to care for me except on weekends. So, she only cared for me herself on the weekends from after breakfast to before dinner."

"So, she didn't pay the nanny, au pair, whatever. But she paid a babysitter during the day?"

"I assume so. I was young. She never specified the details of the babysitter's pay. But that only went on until I turned two because in France daycare is free starting at age two. So, she put me in daycare all day and kept the au pairs staying in the second room to care for me. A much easier job once I was old enough to do most things on my own."

"You're serious?"

"Completely. I went to daycare for 10 hours a day. The au pair took me in the mornings and picked me up in the afternoons before dinner."

"I was still sending $1500 a month at that point."

"Alright. So from ages 6-11, she still had au pairs live with us. The au pair took me to school each morning and picked me up from the afterschool care program right before dinner. She stayed in my room. I slept on a mattress that slid under the bed. As I got a little older, I wasn't comfortable in there and I started sleeping on the couch."

"I see. And did your mother provide for you well?"

Kurt closed his eyes willing himself not to speak.

"Provide?"

"Did she get you music lessons, feed you well, buy you nice clothes?"

"No. She never cooked for me. That was the au pair's job. No music lessons or any kind of lessons. And I had my school uniforms, and usually a couple of other outfits for the weekend, a single pair of shoes for school, a pair of athletic shoes, and a coat for the winter."

"I see."

"When I turned 11, I was old enough to go to boarding school, which I am sure you are aware of. She enrolled in me a boarding school where I spent the entire year, including holidays, except for 8 weeks in the summer. Again, I had the school uniforms, school shoes, athletic shoes, and a coat. When school ended that summer, I came back to find that if I wanted to eat, I had to find work. She never bought any food or anything. I found people who would let me babysit, plant flowers, do household chores, and sometimes I'd run errands for old people. I made enough money to buy myself a couple of outfits and a new pair of athletic shoes if mine didn't fit anymore. I saved up so that I could buy things I needed for school, like paper, shampoo, basic items. I spent most of the money I made buying food, but I learned the hard way that I had to buy it each day. I couldn't buy anything and keep it in the house or her friends would eat it when I was out trying to find jobs to do."

"I still sent her $500 a month for the months you weren't at school."

"She told me that you paid for me to go to boarding school and that was it. If I wanted anything, I'd have to find a way to get it myself – which I did. I watched cooking shows on TV. I copied down recipes and learned to cook. I learned to use the laundromat. I learned all sorts of things to do any jobs I could. It's not like 11 year olds can get work permits. I did that every summer. I always got by with two or three outfits because I knew I would outgrow them by the next summer. And I would buy my coats a size too large and wear it until I couldn't get it on because coats are expensive. She never gave me a penny for anything after I started boarding school. She rented out my room for $800 a month. She never bought me a birthday gift. She never bought me a Christmas present. She told me repeatedly that the only reason she hadn't put me up for adoption was because you were supporting us, well her."

"So, she never worked?"

"Not a day in my lifetime."

"What did she do if she never cared for you or had a job?"

"Other guys? But she had a tubal ligation when I was born so she couldn't end up pregnant again. She likes sex, alcohol, and drugs, so those are the things she spends her time doing."

Robert sat in silence for a long time before speaking again. "So, all of that sounds really insane."

"I'm aware of that and I lived it. It was insane. It's really scary to be 11 and know that no one cares. At least when I had au pairs, it was in their best interest to take care of me or they'd lose their place to live. But once they were gone, I was on my own. When you told me not to bring anything with me, there wasn't much I left behind – journals I had bought and written in, another couple of outfits, my winter coat and a duffle to put them in was all I left behind. And my school shoes and uniform of course. I brought my camera and my wallet, and I wore the nicest outfit I owned. When you gave me the laptop and the phone when I got here, those were the first things like that I had ever owned. I had saved up and bought the camera the summer before. That was the first nice thing I had ever owned and I managed to get it because I was finally old enough to work legally that summer. When I came here I knew nothing about the trust fund. All I knew what that you had requested that I come here for my final year of school. I was actually looking forward to it. You had always sent the money for me to go to decent schools. I figured that you actually cared a minimal amount. I thought you wanted me here to get to know me. I figured it would be a cool year abroad experience like some of the kids at school had when they went to England or Germany for a school year. I seriously knew nothing about the trust fund. You're the one who brought it up after I came – how I wouldn't be getting it unless I stopped being gay."

"So, I brought you here to straighten you out from the spoiled child I thought you had become at your mother's hands. I sent her money for you and I thought she spoiled you with it, buying you everything you wanted, allowing you to become a wild child with too much time and money on your hands."

"Well, I'm not sure how much you were sending for my boarding school costs, but you said you were sending $500 a month, I never saw any of that and she also kept the $800 a month she made renting my room to college students. They would leave about the same time I came back each summer. If I return to Paris, she will expect me to pay the $800 if I want to live in the room. She made that perfectly clear all along. She has always said that the flat was hers to do with as she saw fit. That's one of the reasons I came today. Is the ownership of the flat tied to the trust fund somehow? The instant you requested that I be sent here for the school year, she was ready to put me on the next flight to Ohio, at your expense of course. After Mr. Berry said that me receiving the trust fund was based on me getting married to a girl, I didn't ask any more questions because I won't live a lie and take a girl's potential for love away by marrying her when I know I can't give that to her."

"The flat is to remain in your mother's possession until you inherit the trust fund, at which time the choice was supposed to be yours on whether to keep the flat and take over the taxes and utilities, etc. or whether to sell it and buy another property somewhere else, perhaps wherever you got a job after you graduated."

"So, by refusing to marry a girl, I also forfeit the flat ever becoming mine."

"Yes."

"But then where does that leave my mother and the state of the flat at this point?"

"Well, it remains in her possession until you graduate from college."

"Which will be in four years.

"You were supposed to enroll in college and continue to live in the flat at no cost to you. Nowhere in the agreement did I agree that she could charge you to live in the flat that I bought for you. I did everything I could to provide a good life for you in Paris. The total amount of money I have sent. Give me a minute. Just wait here." Robert left the room.

Kurt wrapped his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and squeezed. He put his hand back between them and retook Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers.

Robert came back a few minutes later. "So, do you know the cost of the boarding school you went to?"

"About 4000 Euros a year."

"What? That's not even $5000. So, $500 a month."

"The really expensive private boarding schools cost more. I went to a private boarding school, but not a really elite one. Not like the ones where the kids of rich families go. But the teachers were good and I studied hard."

"So, looking through the ledgers, I sent her $10,000 for your boarding school and fees. $10,000 a year for 7 years, plus $1000 for July and August when you were home, and $200 a month spending money during the school year."

"So, starting at age 11, you sent $13,000 a year. She paid about $5000 of it for my school and fees. And on top of keeping $8000 a year of your money, she collected another $8000 from the boarder. So, while I had nothing but what I could work for and buy myself, she was getting $16,000 a year."

"That's insane."

"Why would I make this up?"

"I don't know."

"If you want proof, take me to Paris and I'll show you that I have nothing there. And I'll bring back the only thing of value to me that I left behind, which are my journals, provided that the most recent boarder didn't find them and toss them out."

Robert just sat at the table in a daze, looking at his ledger. "So, that's why my threats and refusal to give you any money didn't change your mind last fall. You were used to living with nothing and living in a boarding school."

"That made living with my choice easier, but it's not why I made the choice I made. Being gay is something that I am. It's part of me. Is there something I could say or do that would make you want to date a guy?"

"No. Nothing."

"It's absolutely the same for me. I have never, ever found women sexually attractive. Think hard. Would me sending you to a therapist who told you that you would burn in hell for lusting after women make you stop finding them attractive? What would it take for you to feel attracted to a man?"

"I can't think of anything."

"Exactly my point. What if I offered you a billion dollars to marry a man and have sex with him and adopt children with him."

"No."

"But it's a billion dollars. How hard could it be just to have sex with him? Adopt a couple of kids. You'd never have to work another day in your life." He sounded like a commercial.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't do that. I couldn't have sex with a guy. I couldn't live in a house pretending to love a man." Robert looked nauseated at the thought.

"I can't do that with a woman. I can't have sex with a woman. I can't live in a house pretending to love a woman and provide you heirs. I can't do it. It is just as unpleasant for me to think of touching a woman that way as it is for you to think of touching a man like that. I am not attracted to women. I never have been. I never will be. All the money in the world will not make me be willing to marry a woman who I cannot love the way she deserves to be loved. Maybe I could eventually meet a woman that I really click with and that I love platonically, like a best friend. I could find someone I could share my life and house with, but I would be preventing her from finding someone who truly loves her and wants to be close with her in a way that I could never be. That would be wrong."

"But being gay is wrong."

"That's an opinion. Your opinion. One that a lot of people share. And you're entitled to an opinion. But when your opinion starts to hurt other people, that's discrimination. By being gay, I am not hurting anyone. Me loving Kurt isn't hurting anyone. Him loving me isn't hurting anyone." Sebastian let go of Kurt's hand and reached over and picked his other hand up. "Tell him about this, Kurt."

"Four weeks ago, my cheer squad performed at the Regional Championship in Indianapolis. I'm lead flyer and one of the three singers on the squad. If you don't know, flyers are the ones tossed in the air that do flips and tricks."

Robert nodded.

"So, the competition is set up to take place all afternoon and then the top five groups perform again in the Final Five Showcase after which the placements are announced. We performed fairly late in the competition. I went to the restroom after we performed. Unknowingly, I was followed by four basketball team members from one of the rival cheer squad's school. When I came out of the stall, three of them grabbed me and knocked me back against one of those inset combo trash can/paper towel dispensers. The metal ones."

"I've seen them."

"So, the three of them beat the crap out of me, leaving me covered in bruises, with two bruised ribs, a fractured wrist and dark bruises from the metal of the trash can on my back, which still haven't completely healed."

"And they did this because?"

"Because they didn't want a 'fairy' flyer to beat their girlfriends and because they were homophobes. The insults and beating were administered jointly. This isn't the first time I've had the crap kicked out of me for being gay. I went to Dalton last year because of a death threat at my home school. I've been tossed into dumpsters, locked in lockers, shoved into lockers, had slushies thrown in my face, and been on the receiving end of countless swirlies. And I tried dating a girl – one of the hottest cheerleaders at my school. Kissing a girl didn't make me like kissing girls. Being on the receiving end of years of bullying didn't beat the gay out of me. I AM gay. I've always been gay. I will always be gay. The only thing that could potentially change that would be to actually brainwash me through methods that should be illegal. And I've even read stories of men who were forced to endure those horrific things, but they are still gay."

Burt spoke. "Robert, being gay isn't a choice."

"Even if it isn't a choice, it's a choice to act on those desires."

Kurt spoke up again. "It's a choice for you to act on your sexual desires as well. Would you adjust to celibacy well just because someone declared that acting on your heterosexuality was a sinful choice? I'm going to step out on a limb and answer 'no' for you because you got Sebastian's mother pregnant and you weren't married to her. The same rules that say that acting on homosexual desires is a sin also say that sex outside of marriage is a sin. You didn't manage to keep your sexual desires under control. That makes you just as much of a sinner as a homosexuals who act on their desires."

Robert started to talk, but stopped.

Kurt resumed his tirade, "And people in positions of power, such as you, who speak out against homosexuality embolden high school jerks who bully people who are different than they are. When you speak out against it, you give them a target to push down so they can fulfill their desires to be top dog. Your discrimination and hate speech fuels the hate of those younger than you. I have endured the physical outcome of that hatred for years. You think it's just an opinion and you think you're right. You may think you were trying to guide Sebastian back to the right path, but you were just using your money instead of your fists. You bullied your own son and deprived him of basic necessities in order to change something that he can't change. You sat there and seemed shocked by what his mother had done. You were worse."

"Watch your accusations."

Kurt held his ground. "You listen carefully. She at least gave him the chance to earn the money he needed to buy basic necessities. You kept his US documents and made it impossible for him to work legally to get the money he needed. You dumped him into a school system he did not understand in a new country that he didn't know the social customs of. You left him there to fend for himself with no money at all. How would you like to be told that you're not worthy of a notebook, some pens and pencils, deodorant or shampoo until you stop being attracted to women? You, Robert Smythe, are a bully. And you encourage other bullies with your political hate speech."

"I didn't come here to get you to give me the flat," Sebastian said. "I didn't come here to ask you for anything. I felt that you needed to know the truth since it seemed to me that you did not. Where do we go from here? Since I am not going to turn straight through manipulation or be forced to live in an arrangement that is not fulfilling to any woman I would marry, what happens to the flat? Are you going to allow my mother to live there for the next four years and then evict her?"

Robert looked at his ledger again.

"From your account, she's already kept $56,000 of your money, just since I turned 11. You never said what you had been giving her before. It doesn't matter since she never spent 90% of it on me. I'd estimate 10% of what you sent before I turned 11 got spent on me and the majority of that would have been in the first 2 years when she had to hire a sitter during the daytime. You can figure up the total of what you've sent and deduct out the $35,000 that actually got spent on my education and maybe another $10,000 for the two years of daytime babysitters. Plus whatever minimal amount of money she spent feeding me, keeping in mind that she only feed me dinner during the weekdays and 4 meals on the weekends starting at age 2. You've spent a great deal of money and gotten very little in return. A fag for a son, who refuses to marry a girl and carry on the Smythe name by giving you an heir, but you have Liam now for that."

"This is not how I meant for things to be. I sent the money for you to have a good life – for you to be taken care of."

"But you wanting me to be taken care of ended when you found out that I was gay. So, the good life and being taken care of are conditional. I hope for Liam's sake that he's straight. I'd hate for another one of your children to grow up and find out that he's only worthy of being a Smythe if he's straight. His work ethic, his grades, the way his treats other people, what kind of person he is – none of those things matter unless he's straight."

Robert didn't respond.

"I've worked hard since I was 11 years old. And you know, it wasn't until I came here and you forced your hand that I ever resorted to doing anything against the rules to make money. Sure 11 year olds can't get job permits, but no one needs a job permit to plant flowers or go buy groceries for old people. But here, you forced me to break rules at Dalton in order to get the supplies I needed to continue to be a good student, to keep my grades up so that I could get into college. Because you thought that being gay was wrong and that I should be punished for it, I had to break my own code of ethics to survive. That made me hate you. You could have given me $100 for school supplies and personal hygiene products for the whole semester and a gas card to use when you wanted me to come here for whatever reason. I would have never complained. I've never had much. The two outfits you gave me – I would have never asked for more. But you made me break the rules just so I could buy deodorant and shampoo. So I could put gas in the car you bought for me. So, I could have paper to take notes on." Sebastian took a deep breath to tamp down the potential tears.

Kurt squeezed Sebastian's hand.

"Do you realize that when I came here I thought it was because you WANTED me here? My mother told me that you wanted me to come here to live with you. No one had ever wanted me. I got here and found out that you only wanted me here to berate me and insult me and try to break me. But out of all of your hatred, came meeting Kurt, and Burt and Carole. I have a real family now. I need you to figure out what needs to be done about the flat. I assume that you are not willing to let my mother live there indefinitely. If you need me to sign something or go with you to Paris or whatever, you can send me a letter at the Hummel's or at the school. Not that it makes any difference to you, but I will not be returning to Paris to go to college. That's what made me start thinking about the flat to start with. If you allow my mother to keep it, she will continue renting out my room, but I will not be moving back in with her. You also need to know that if I have to go with you to do something about it, you'll have to buy the ticket and it will be a round trip ticket. I can't afford a ticket to Paris. I'm saving up for college."

"Which should have been free."

"Free college plus living with my drunken, drug-taking mother and paying $800 a month, plus buying my own food is a pretty high price. I haven't lived with her for more than 8 weeks in a row since I was 11 years old. So, I spend $1000+ a month to go to school in that living environment or I pay about the same and I live with Kurt and go to college. Easiest decision ever."

"I see. Where are you going to school that costs so little?"

"It's here in Ohio and I got a scholarship, so that helps since I won't get any financial aid because you're rich and the fact that you won't give me any of that money makes no difference to the grant-calculating computers. Actually, I won't even get considered for any grants because you didn't fill out the FAFSA. So, I filled out my portion because it was required, but without the parental parts filled in, I'm ineligible for any financial aid outside whatever the school itself has offered me."

"I see."

"Not yet, but maybe you will some day. Hopefully before Liam becomes a teenager and you turn him into your clone and he behaves like the local homophobes that injure nice people like Kurt."

Robert started to speak, but Sebastian talked over him.

"And before you say that you wouldn't let him do that, think about what you did to me. You made me break school rules so that I could do my schoolwork. I also didn't appreciate your effort to punish me further by making me move to a suite for second semester. Unless you have something else you'd like to share with me, I think I'm done. I came so you could know what my life was like before I came here. Now you know. You know how to contact me, if you need to at any point in the future. If it's past the last week in May, send whatever it is to me at the Hummel's in Lima."

"I guess the only thing I have to say is that I didn't know that your mother wasn't taking care of you."

"You have plenty of money. You could have come to see for yourself. And when had the chance to do better than she had, you blew it."

"I think you should consider doing something to improve your knowledge of human sexuality," Kurt said. "Continuing to spread religious hatred in the name of morality puts you a slippery slope to a theocracy. If who I love isn't a choice, denying me the right to marry the person I love is discrimination. My 18 year old stepbrother and his 17 year old girlfriend got married a few weeks ago. The state of Ohio didn't object to that. But Sebastian and I can't get married in Ohio at all. People in this state can get fired just because they're gay. I've seen it happen. What does being gay have to do with being able to sell clothing or do any other job? Discrimination against people for being different is wrong."

"Marriage is between one man and one woman."

"Fine. Create something equal under the law and call it whatever you want. This isn't about semantics – it's about equality and ending discrimination. But today was just for you to know the truth of Sebastian's childhood. And instead of making a bad situation better when you brought him here to live with you, you made it go from bad to worse. You have two young, impressionable children. Will you teach them to love their neighbor as themselves the way your religious prophet told you to or will you continue to disobey his commands? It's not what other people do that determine your soul's final resting place is it? If not, follow ones of your prophet's other teachings about getting the log out of your own eye and not worrying with the speck in someone else's. Otherwise known, as mind your own business and follow the commandments of the person you claim is your prophet. Leave the rest of us for your God to sort out."

"We'll be going now," Burt said as he stood up. "I think you've both given Robert plenty to think about and he knows how to contact Sebastian if he wants or needs to."

Everyone else stood up and walked to the front of the house and left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Let's go eat lunch somewhere," Carole suggested.

They went to the same Chinese place that Kurt, Sebastian, and Sam had gone to the evening they spent the night at the Smythe residence.

Neither Kurt nor Sebastian really felt like eating and they ordered a pint to split rather than a quart. Carole looked at them, but said nothing. The others opted for the buffet.

While the other three talked, Kurt and Sebastian said very little and ate what was on their plates and held hands under the table once they had finished eating.

"We're supposed to be meeting Nick and Jeff at the Columbus Art Museum at noon. I hate to run out on you after you were so kind to come with me."

"It's fine, sweetie. Enjoy your trip to the museum. Burt and I have to leave soon anyway because he's flying back to DC and I have to drop him off at the airport before I head back to Lima."

"I really appreciate you coming. I'm sorry to keep dragging all of you into this mess."

"Sweetie, please stop feeling bad. We wouldn't have come if we didn't want to support you."

Burt nodded. "When we said you were family, we meant that. I know that doesn't mean much to you yet, but in time you'll see that we mean what we say."

"It means a lot to me already. More than you know."

"Enjoy the museum," Hiram said. "They have a lovely collection."

Kurt and Sebastian left. They waved from the parking lot before they got into the Navigator.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They met up with Nick and Jeff at the museum. They spent the whole afternoon touring through the galleries. Kurt never let go of Sebastian's hand. By the time they left, the two of them were really hungry after skipping breakfast and eating very little for lunch.

"Let's splurge and go to IHOP," Kurt said as they came out of the museum.

"Splurge? IHOP isn't expensive," Nick said, somewhat confused.

"What is IHOP?"

"International House of Pancakes," Jeff answered.

"Ah, a calorie splurge," Sebastian said. "Sounds good to me."

Kurt pulled his phone out and looked for the closest IHOP. "There's one just a couple of miles from the school. Let's go to that one."

"Alright. We know where that one is. We'll meet you there," Jeff said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian walked through the parking lot to the Navigator. Kurt didn't let go of Sebastian's hand and walked him up to the passenger side. He unlocked the doors and opened Sebastian's for him, allowing him to get in, but not stepping away. Once he was in his seat, he stepped closer and kissed Sebastian gently. He closed his door and walked around to the other side and got in.

"I miss being able to hold your hand while I drive." Before he backed up, he picked Sebastian's hand back up and brought it to his lips and kissed his knuckles. "I love you."

"I love you too. You were fantastic this morning. You… I… It was just surreal to be in the place where I was made to feel lower than dirt and have you defend me, defend us."

Kurt reluctantly let his hand go and started to back up since he didn't want Nick and Jeff to have to wait on them.

"It wasn't just me. You stood there and told your father that you love me and that I love you and that our love isn't wrong. You were so brave."

"I didn't feel brave."

"But you were. You stood up for us. I know that my parents already knew, but you stated it out loud in front of everyone. I just… My heart just melted."

"I do love you and I'm not ashamed of that. I guess we'll see what today's trip yields at some point. I don't think my father is going to want to continue to let my mother live in the flat, but I don't think he'll want to go and confront her either. I guess all I really learned today is that nothing is set to happen legally when I graduate from high school."

"So, that leaves more time to figure it out at least."

"It does. I really liked the photography section today. They had a nice selection of folk art too, which was different than the type of art I'm used to seeing."

"It was interesting. I liked the European art collection. I didn't expect to see 6 Picasso paintings in Ohio. Plus, I think I counted 7 Miró paintings, several by Renoir, the Rodin statues. I was just surprised I guess. Maybe a little disappointed in myself for despising Ohio so much when there really are places I could have gone that I would have enjoyed a lot."

"Well, you were talking about making mistakes and learning from them. Not seeing these things is something you can change easily. We're not leaving Ohio for a while. We can actually start researching and find places that we want to visit."

"You're right."

"So, tell me about this pancake restaurant."

"Nope. It's a surprise."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"These choices are crazy. They all sound like desserts, not main course items," Sebastian said.

"True, very true, but that's the splurging part. We pretend is a main course item and eat dessert instead," Kurt said.

"I see." Sebastian looked through the menu again. "How about you pick, since coming here was your idea."

"Alright."

"I'm having something chocolate," Jeff said.

"Mmm… tres leches. That's what I'm having. Those are SO good," Nick closed his eyes and hummed.

The waitress took the orders and came back with their selections quickly.

"I've officially decided that I need to learn how to make American style pancakes."

"I can teach you. I've made them for you before." Kurt said.

Sebastian smiled. "Mmm hmm, and they were delicious."

"You're so spoiled, Sebastian," Nick said. "We've tasted Kurt's baked goods before. You're a lucky duck."

"I know," Sebastian smirked and leaned over and kissed Kurt on the cheek.

Kurt blushed. "Sebastian's a good cook too. We cook together a lot. Carole works odd hours and they're even more odd since she keeps trading with people to get blocks of time off so she can spend time with my dad. So, we cook for ourselves a lot. We actually don't go out very often."

"We eat in the cafeteria almost all the time," Nick said. "We do go out every other week or so, just to get away from the school for a while."

"What are your plans for this summer?" Kurt asked.

They discussed the when they could visit Nick and Jeff in Cleveland along with other potential things they could do together over the summer.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian checked the room for anything they might have missed. Kurt zipped his suitcase when they didn't find anything else.

"I like going home better, but I'm glad you're coming here the weekends I can't go home."

"I'm glad I can come here. Even though I have to leave before you do when you're at home, at least we get two nights and days together."

They held each other close for a few minutes. Kurt pulled back a bit and kissed Sebastian. "I love you."

"I love you too." Sebastian released his hold on Kurt. "Let's head downstairs." Sebastian grabbed Kurt's suitcase and opened the door.

Kurt grabbed his jacket and put it on. He put his satchel on his shoulder and stepped out the door. Sebastian locked the door and took Kurt's hand and they walked out to the visitor's lot.

"I'll see you Friday." Kurt climbed in the driver's seat and Sebastian put the suitcase in the backseat. Kurt rolled the window down and Sebastian leaned in for one last kiss.


	21. Chapter 21

Kurt continued with his early morning hour of work before going to school. He even managed to stay awake in all of his classes, which was a feat since he hadn't slept well the previous night.

He spent the last period of the day pretending to pay attention to the teacher go over something he had covered on his own since he figured it would have been covered the previous Friday. While he was sitting there, an idea came to him, which he had to quickly put into motion for it to work. As soon as the bell rang, he got out of his chair and went and sat next to Kendra.

"Remember your offer in the dining room?" he teased her.

"Umm, that was months ago. Did you change your mind? I will totally be your girlfriend."

"Well, not exactly, but I need a partner for Glee. There are 8 guys and 7 girls and I know you're already singing with the Troubletones, but you have a really nice voice and I was wondering what I would have to offer you to get you to rehearse two afternoons a week with Glee and be my partner?"

"Hmm. How about one nice dinner at your house that I can actually eat and a movie?"

"Done and done. I get off work at 7:00, though. So, I can't make you dinner before then. Is that too late?"

"Nope. It's fine. I'll do my homework while you're working."

"Perfect. As far as I know, it will be Monday and Thursday after school. I'll let you know if it's different. You don't have to come today. And you can pick any night Monday through Thursday to be our date nights. You can let me know tomorrow after class. I have to get to rehearsal. Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt headed into Glee. The songs still had not been chosen and he was losing patience. Once everyone was in the room, he put his hand up.

"Mr. Schue?"

"Yes, Kurt."

"We have not made the progress I had hoped for since we still don't have a set list yet, but I have been thinking about our costumes and I have a suggestion."

"What is it Kurt?"

"Well, the dresses that the girls wore for Rachel and Finn's wedding were lovely and with some minor adjustments, nothing permanent, they could work really well for Nationals. It would save a lot of money because only 6 or 7 dresses would need to be ordered, rather than 12 or 13 and only two guy's shirts would need to be ordered. I'm not sure how many Cheerio Troubletones there are."

"Explain your idea," Tina said.

"So, we put black sashes around the waists of the dresses. And we attach black bow ties to the center of the front. We already have black crinolines and if we need more, those are not expensive. The girls wear knee-length leggings, similar to previous times, just slightly shorter so they don't show unless they're spinning. And black heels, which all the girls already have. If any of the girls need to wear something in their hair, the accessories would be black. The guys wear black slacks, the button ups from the wedding, black bow ties because they don't flop around while we dance, and the black shoes we all already own."

"That's not a bad idea," Quinn said. "It would cost a lot less than buying all new dresses. We already have black bow ties for the guys. And making them for the dresses out of the same material as we use to make the sashes can't be that hard. Right, Tina? And if the straps aren't strong enough, we could add black thicker straps underneath that could be removed later."

"She's right." Tina said. "Those things wouldn't be that hard to do."

Kurt spoke again. "We just have to order 6 or 7 dresses in more pale colors. They can even be repeats except for 2 of them. I was thinking a turquoise and a pale salmon if they're available. If not, a pale teal and whichever of the other two we can get shirts to match. We can order from wherever Rachel got the dresses and shirts."

Mr. Schue asked, "Is anyone opposed to this idea?"

No one said anything.

"Well, then I think we'll go with that idea. So, Rachel, if you could give Kurt and Tina the name of the company you ordered from, they can get started on that."

"Alright."

"I have one other question."

"Yes, Kurt."

"We have 8 guys and 7 girls. I spoke with one of the Troubletones who is willing to join us for two afternoons a week so that we can have even numbers for our group piece to make the choreography easier. Is anyone opposed to one of them joining us? She has already agreed to be my partner. I thought we could partner up the way Rachel had everyone at the wedding since the guys shirts and girls dresses match that way. It was a really good line up."

"Is anyone opposed to one of the Troubletones joining us for our group number?"

"Can she sing?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, Rachel. I've heard her sing. She's a soprano."

Santana asked, "Who?"

"Kendra."

"She's good, Man Hands. Don't worry. She won't ruin the song."

"Fine."

"Alright, then that's settled."

Kurt raised his hand again.

"Yes, Kurt?"

"I have a suggestion for the guys song. 'Drowning' by the Backstreet Boys."

"I've never heard it," Puck said.

"Come sit by me and you can listen to it," Kurt said.

The guys that didn't know the song moved closer to Kurt and he played it.

"That's actually kind of nice," Puck said. "I mean it's not my normal style, but it's supposed to be a ballad, not a rock song. It's got nice harmonies, which is what I thought we were going for."

"I figured we could double up on the background harmony and have whoever has the best blend with Puck can sing the melody with him through the choruses to make the melody stand out a bit more. So, Rory takes the bass harmony, then Mike, Finn, and Artie sing baritone, then Joe and Sam sing tenor, leaving me alone on the high harmony, but the high notes will ring out with just one person singing them."

Artie said, "That could work. We just need to see whether Mike, Finn or Artie can blend the best with Puck for the choruses. We could even have two people singing with him on the melody through the chorus and leave the others singing the harmony."

"That could work too," Kurt said. "We'd just need to download the arrangement. That's why I thought a Backstreet Boys song was a good choice – because we could technically start working on it on Wednesday since there would be no need to arrange the parts for the chorus and we could base the rest of the harmonization that we want to do based on the way the chorus is done."

"If that's what the guys want to do, I'm fine with it," Mr. Schue said. "The 8 of you can talk about it. Girls, let's move to the other side of the room for a moment."

They all moved closer together. "Look, we want to have fun, but we don't want to be stressed out like last year. You all missed out on going sight seeing and that was my fault. I'm not letting that happen this year. Our pieces are going to be performance-ready two weeks before Nationals, so that at the end we're just rehearsing what we already know. No learning anything new at the last minute. So, I need to know what Rachel decided about joining the Troubletones piece and who is being featured in that piece so that I can divide up the parts in our group number."

"Rachel hasn't been coming and we have 12 members," Santana said. "We've already learned most of the dance, so as far as I'm concerned, she's not joining us. We've had four rehearsals already."

"Alright, so who is being featured?"

"Santana and me, mostly," Mercedes answered.

"But we gave Quinn, Tina, and Brittany a couple of lines or shared featured lines."

"Alright, so if I featured all of you, but Rachel had more lines than the rest of you, but Quinn, Tina, and Brittany were featured more than Santana and Mercedes, would you all be okay with that?"

"That seems reasonable to me," Tina said.

"That's fine with me," Quinn added. "So long as the overall amount we're all featured is reasonably close. Not like 2/3 of the song for Rachel and then the other 6 of us split the remaining 1/3 of the song."

"Alright. We still need to actually pick a song." Mr. Schue turned to the guys. "So, what's the verdict?"

Puck answered, "We're going to give it a go. We figured paying for a copy of the music is worth the risk to see how we sound."

"Okay, then we need to get back to choosing a group number. Several songs were suggested, but none of them had enough enthusiastic support to come out the clear victor. I'll give you all until tomorrow to bring in any other suggestions. Wednesday, the boys will rehearse 'Drowning'. Thursday we'll vote on the group number. So, to recap – the guys and girls will rehearse separately Mondays before school and Wednesdays after school. We will work on our group number Mondays and Thursdays after school. Tuesdays and Fridays we will continue to learn more about music and to have time for people to express themselves musically."

Kurt stood up and Sam followed him out of the room. Kurt stopped by his locker and grabbed what he needed and went to the Navigator to wait for Sam.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, taking the bull by the horns, it seems," Sam said after he put his seatbelt on.

"I'm tired of letting the bull run wild with no direction. It gets old after three years. I want to sing. I want to do well. I want to have fun. Sitting around and taking weeks to choose a song is none of those things."

"That Backstreet Boys song is nice. I think it will sound good. Do you know what the girls are singing?"

"Not yet. But I can find out tomorrow from Kendra."

"She's the one that offered to be your girlfriend, isn't she?"

"Yep. And she's my new platonic date partner once a week until Nationals. Dinner and a movie."

"I see." Sam laughed. "You bribed her."

"I did. You could give Megan a chance. You don't have to be madly in love with her to give her some nice dates with a nice guy."

"I guess that's true."

"You might be the first decent guy she's ever gone out with."

"That's sad."

"It is."

"What will Bas think of your new girlfriend?"

"He'll laugh. He's not the crazy jealous type. I told you that he's fine with us hanging out."

Kurt pulled into the lot and Sam got out and went inside. Kurt pulled his phone out and texted Sebastian.

To Sebastian: I have a new standing date night with Kendra.

From Sebastian: What did you need from her?

To Sebastian: I needed a partner for Glee. 8 guys, 7 girls. Choreography works better if there are pairs.

From Sebastian: So, you get a partner that can dance and sing and you have to make her dinner and what else?

To Sebastian: Watch a movie.

From Sebastian: Seems reasonable. She has to deal with your crazy club for 2+ hours a week. And you get the good fortune of having a good dance partner who's nice and likes you.

To Sebastian: Exactly. I have to go fix a car. I'll call you tonight. I love you.

From Sebastian: I love you too. Have fun with Kendra.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was beginning to doubt the sanity of his choice to play lacrosse. He was tired, really tired, and he had homework to do and someone to tutor still. He wondered whether giving up the Warblers would be a good choice. It would free up about as much time as quitting the lacrosse team.

Which one was more fun and enjoyable? That was the question that he didn't have an answer to. He'd give it until the end of the week, but something had to give. Maybe he just had to realize that he was going to have to do homework on the weekend. He didn't want that either.

His first plan was to attempt to do 30 minutes of reading at lunch everyday and eat in the Warblers practice room.

Nine weeks.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday Kurt showed up to Glee ready to pitch the group song he thought would work well. Once everyone was seated, Mr. Schue moved to the middle of the room.

"So, who's brought another selection for us to listen to today?"

Kurt raised his hand.

"Anyone else?"

No one responded.

"Alright, Kurt. Let's hear what you've brought."

"Well, listen with an open mind. I know that the original is just one female lead singer, but I think it could work with multiple duet and single leads changing throughout the song." Kurt plugged the cord into his phone. Before he pressed play, he wrote the name of the song and singer on the white board – "Strip Me" by Natasha Bedingfield. "Everyone look the lyrics up so that you can follow along while you listen. He gave everyone a couple of minutes to pull them up.

_Everyday I fight for all my future something's_

_A thousand little wars I have to choose between_

_I could spend a lifetime earning things I don't need_

_That's like chasing rainbows and coming home empty_

_And if you strip me, strip it all away_

_If you strip me, what would you find?_

_If you strip me, strip it all away_

_I'll be alright_

(Chorus)

_Take what you want, steal my pride_

_Build me up or cut me down to size_

_Shut me out, but I'll just scream_

_I'm only one voice in a million_

_But you ain't taking that from me (repeat 3x)_

_You ain't taking that_

_I don't need a microphone_

_To say what I've been thinking_

_My heart is like a loudspeaker_

_That's always on eleven_

_And if you strip me, strip it all away_

_If you strip me, what would you find?_

_If you strip me, strip it all away_

_I'm still the same_

Repeat chorus

_Cause when it all boils down at the end of the day_

_It's what you do and say that makes you who you are_

_Makes you think about, think about it doesn't it?_

_Sometimes all it takes is one voice_

Repeat chorus (2x)

"I like what the song says overall, but do you think that the title will prejudice the judges against listening to the rest of the words?" Quinn asked.

"I'm not sure," Kurt answered. "It's a shame that the song's not called 'One Voice' or something like that."

"Well, I think this song is an interesting contender," Mr. Schue said.

Kurt spoke again. "The other idea I had was to sing something we sang our very first year, which was 'True Colors'. We could sing the verses as duets that switch throughout the song and have the chorus be everyone singing together. It would lend itself to much slower pairs dancing, allowing us to perfect our moves and making it easier on those with limited dance skills, and it would go with the rainbow colored outfits."

Mr. Schue wrote all of the songs on the board that had been suggested since spring break on the board. "I'm going to give you 15 minutes to use your phone to relisten to any of these that you might need a refresher on. We have 10 songs now. You can each vote for 3. Once we get the top 3 songs, we'll vote again on a final selection." He went into his office to bring out slips of paper and the shoebox to collect the votes in.

Once their time was up, each person wrote down their top three choices. Mr. Schue wrote the top three contenders on the board and everyone used their second ballot to make a final selection. Mr. Schue tallied the ballots.

"It looks like 'True Colors' has been chosen. I'll get to work on arranging the piece again. I'll base it off our original arrangement, but as Kurt suggested, rather than having a single lead through the whole song, it will pass from couple to couple since we have the group divided into couples. The duet section you sing may have you singing the melody or the harmony, but it will just be two of you singing at a time, so each person should be able to be heard. For a piece like this to work, we will have to use face mics. So, we'll work on practicing with them once we've got the vocals and the choreography down. I know that we had discussed having open time on Tuesdays and Fridays to do our regular sharing and singing. But this week, I'd like Brittany, Santana, Mike, and Kurt to come in on Friday and start to work on choreographing the couples dances for 'True Colors'. We'll meet again next Tuesday, so mark that on your schedules. No one else will need to stay this Friday or next Tuesday. Everyone is free to go."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I really liked that song you suggested."

"Me too. Quinn had a good point about the name though. At least we finally chose something so we can get started. The thing that surprised me the most is that he asked me to stay to help with the choreography."

"He knows you taught your dad and Finn to dance for the wedding. I don't think any of the rest of us guys know how to do couples dancing."

"Well, everyone will look great at Prom this year after weeks of rehearsal for Nationals."

"I'm wearing that baby blue suit to Prom."

"You're not."

"I am. I have to find someone crazy enough to go with me or just go by myself."

"You're paired with Brittany for the group number, maybe you can start hinting that a costumed Prom would be fun. Then you could wear the baby blue suit as your David Bowie costume."

"A costumed Prom would be awesome. Maybe more single people would come if it felt more like a party than a pairs dancing event."

"They might."

"Are you going to ask Bas?"

"I don't know. I don't even know when it is. He has lacrosse games every other Saturday that last for an hour. By the time he got showered and changed and we drove straight here, it would be after 7:00. After last year's fiasco, I'm not sure how interested I am in going."

"That was just plain wrong. Figgins should have announced the girl with the highest number of votes. There were plenty of people there who weren't in on it."

"Well, I seriously doubt Figgins' educational credentials frequently."

"Let's get inside. There are cars to fix and tools to clean."

"And paychecks to earn. I love having the car, but I've been spending a lot of my paycheck on gas since I missed during those rehearsals and then I didn't work during spring break."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

By Thursday, Kurt had a realtor lined up to show them four houses and four apartment options in Cincinnati on Sunday starting at noon. He finalized the meeting point at lunch on Thursday.

Once classes were over, Kendra met him outside the Glee room and she came in to work on "True Colors" with the group. She sat with him and Sam. It didn't take long for Brittany to manage to squeeze her way into Kurt's chair with him and cause Sam to get up and move over one spot, giving Brittany his chair.

"If you wanted a girlfriend again, Kurt, why didn't you tell me? I thought you'd want to be my boyfriend again if you ever decided to date girls again."

"Sweetie, you know you're the only girl for me. Kendra's my singing and dancing partner for the song, remember?"

"I remember. But what if I wanted to be your dance partner?"

"You're Sam's partner. In your heels, you're the same height as me and that makes it harder for me to spin you. Sam's taller than me so it's easier for him to spin you."

"Okay, but his hands aren't as soft as yours. Maybe you can teach him how to get his hands softer."

"I can try, Britt."

Mr. Shue had the vocal arrangement ready and distributed the sheet music and the group worked on their parts for the whole class period.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kendra rode with Kurt and Sam to the shop after rehearsal and did her homework in the lounge while Kurt fixed cars. She wandered out several times and watched him.

"I'm only going to say this once because I know it's not really polite. But I really wish you weren't gay. You're really cool and would make an awesome boyfriend."

"Fortunately for me, my boyfriend thinks I am an awesome boyfriend. But I do appreciate the kind words. I hope you find someone who likes girls who fits your criteria for 'awesome boyfriend'. You're very sweet and you deserve someone who treats you respectfully and as an equal."

"Thanks. How long have you worked on cars?"

"Since I was a little kid. But for pay, since I was 16."

"That's cool. I bet it pays better than fast food."

"Definitely. I make about three times as much an hour."

"Oh, wow."

"But I have a lot of certifications. Sam just makes minimum wage still. He just started working here a few months ago when he moved in with us."

"Your dad must be as cool as you are to let two teenagers that aren't his live with you guys."

"My dad's great. He's not home much during the week. But he'll be home next Thursday when you come over because there's a two-week congressional break starting this weekend."

"Congressional break?"

"My dad is a congressman."

"Oh. I didn't know. I just knew he owned this place."

"He ran for election last fall."

"I didn't turn 18 until January. I wasn't paying any attention to the election. I'll leave you alone to finish. Sorry for interrupting you."

"I'll be done at 7:00 and we can go home then. I have everything prepped, so it won't take long to get it ready."

"I'm excited to see what it is. I have a movie picked out. Can we stop by a Redbox on the way to your house?"

"Sure. I should have asked before. Do you have any food allergies?"

"Nope. Only Coach Sue's craziness."

"Alright. I have to get these spark plugs in, if you'll excuse me."

"Sure. Sorry. I'll go read."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sam prepared dinner quickly since Kurt had prepped all of it ahead of time. Kendra sat at the island and watched them, and then moved to the dining room table once it was done.

"Sorry for watching you like that. I've never seen guys cook before."

"That's not all that surprising. Sebastian is the only other guy I know that cooks."

"That's not true, Kurt. Puck cooks."

"I had forgotten."

"Puck, as in Puck from McKinley, can cook?"

"Yep. He's good at basic stuff like mac & cheese, spaghetti, soup, sandwiches, and cupcakes."

"Alright, so tell me how this dish can possibly meet Coach Sue's requirements. It has rice in it."

"Nope, no rice. That's riced cauliflower."

"Oh." She took a bite of the stir-fry. "It's good." She took another larger bite. "It's actually really good."

"I stir-fried everything with the tiniest bit of oil, just enough to get the seasonings to stick, so it's still lowfat."

They mostly ate in silence so that they could finish and watch them movie in time to get Kendra home by her curfew.

After they finished eating, Sam went up to his room to do his homework. Kurt and Kendra headed to the family room to watch _Neverland_.

"Is it okay if we turn the lights off? I like watching movies in the dark."

"Sure." Kurt got up and turned the lights off and sat back down.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Does your boyfriend know I'm here?"

"Yeah."

"And he's okay with it?"

"Sure. Can I ask you something? And I need you to be honest with me."

"Alright."

"I can't do this with you if you have a crush on me. I can't do things that are confusing and give you the false hope that there's something that you can do to make me straight. I have absolutely no problems being friends with you and even snuggling up and watching chick flicks, which I actually like. I'll do your hair, paint your nails, we can watch makeover shows. My dad will even let you sleepover. But I can't be straight. I can't like you in a romantic way. I've tried before."

"Brittany."

"Yes. We dated two years ago. I'm 100% gay, not even a hint of bi. So, as long as you understand that anything I do is not romantic, we'll be fine. I just have had the unpleasant experience of being led on by someone and I don't ever want to do that to someone else."

"I get it. It's fine. Really. You're not like any boy I've ever met. If you were straight, I'd ask you to date me and see if we could make it work, but I could use a friend."

"Alright then. We can snuggle if you want."

Kendra scooted closer and Kurt wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and hit play on the DVD player.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Burt flew in Friday afternoon. He decided to have Sebastian pick him up and bring him back to Lima rather than have Carole drive to get him.

Kurt was a little disappointed because that meant that Sebastian wouldn't get to Lima until a lot later than usual, but he understood his dad's reasoning. Carole was cooking dinner for everyone, including Finn and Rachel and they were having their first Friday evening family dinner in a long time.

He also knew that it meant that Sebastian would have to work his normal 7-8 hours all on Saturday. But at least he would get to spend the day with him, even if it was changing tires or doing tune-ups. And this weekend, he had homework left since he had spent the previous evening with Kendra. He decided he would do it while Sebastian worked on the bookkeeping. And he couldn't forget squeezing in the cake decorating the next morning before work.

He finished up the project he had been working on, and then changed and tossed his coveralls into he bin. Sam had already changed back. They headed home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They both headed directly up the stairs. Kurt wanted to drop his stuff off in his room before starting to help with dinner. He stacked his books on the vanity and opened his agenda and looked through what he had left to do before he headed back down the stairs. He met Sam coming out of the kitchen as he was heading in.

"I think dinner's almost done. Finn and Rachel are supposed to be here soon."

"Why are you headed into the living room?"

"Um, I'm waiting for Sebastian to get here so I can leave."

"Oh, I hadn't thought about my dad changing the plans causing you problems."

"It's not a problem. I'm ready to head out. I just brought my bag downstairs and grabbed a slice of cold pizza and ate it. As soon as they get here, I'm heading out. No offense – but a family dinner with Rachel and Sebastian in the same room isn't on my list of fun ways to spend the evening, even if I hadn't been planning to go home this weekend."

"It's not on my list of fun ways to spend the evening either."

Just then, the front door opened and Burt came in. Sebastian came in behind him carrying Burt's bags. He sat them down in the entryway and headed right back to the car to grab his own. Sam headed out the door right behind him. He tossed his stuff in the front seat while Sebastian pulled his stuff out of the backseat.

"Sorry we're a little late. His luggage took a while to make it to the baggage claim area."

"Not a problem. I'd just rather not be here when Rachel and Finn arrive. I do a decent job of ignoring her without her noticing it at school, but it's a lot harder to do that one-on-one. My condolences on having to spend the evening with her."

"Thanks. Maybe we can hang out Sunday evening when you get back."

"That would be fun. See ya!"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt had grabbed Burt's bags and taken them to the master bedroom, and then headed straight up the stairs. When Sebastian came in the room a few minutes later to drop his bags off, Kurt was waiting for him.

As soon as he was all the way inside the room, Kurt moved to shut and lock the door behind him.

"I'm glad your home. I missed you."

Sebastian put his stuff on the end of the bed and opened his arms and Kurt closed the distance between them quickly and wrapped his arms around Sebastian.

"I missed you too."

"I still have schoolwork to do. I'm going to try to use that to get back up here as quickly as possible after we eat. We have to work tomorrow and I still have to go help Puck frost Sarah's cake tomorrow before going to the shop."

"I'm sure I can think of something I can work on that's school-related so that I can say I have work to do too." He thought for a minute. "I can work on a paper I have to do for French, even though it's not due until Thursday."

"Okay. Let's head downstairs and get this over with."

"Kisses first."

"Of course."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian and Kurt stopped in the bathroom on their way to the kitchen to wash their hands again. They offered to help carry the food to the dining table. Everyone sat down and began to pass the food around.

"This looks really good, Mom," Finn said as he took several pieces of chicken before passing the platter.

"So, how are you liking working at the auto parts store?" Burt asked.

"It's alright, I guess. Working on the weekends kind of sucks thought because I miss out on hanging out with the guys."

"Yeah, as an adult, you have to plan more. There's less spontaneous entertainment," Carole said. "I'm having to plan weeks in advance to get time off in blocks so that I can see Burt."

"I hadn't really thought about that, but I'm sure that's quite difficult to do," Rachel said.

"It is, but it's worth it. You'll both need to work on time management skills to be able to make it in New York City," Carole pointed out. "Getting a full-time position will be hard to do. Most places that hire non-professionals only hire part-time employees, making it so that people have to work more than one job to make ends meet."

"Why do they do that?" Finn asked. "If they know the person is going to go get another job somewhere else, they know the person would rather just work all of the hours one place."

"Benefits," Burt said. "If a company hires people full-time, they have to pay for benefits for them that they don't have to pay for part-time workers. So, it costs a company less to hire two part-time people to work one full-time position."

"That sucks," Finn responded.

"It does," Burt said. "But it's the reality of things right now. I went and did some research after listening to some of the things that Kurt had said and found out that he was right about the cost of living in New York City. It's very, very high. You'll be working a lot of hours just to pay for a small place to live. You all need to make plans to go out there for a few days and meet with someone who shows apartments to see what you can find. Plus, you need to start putting in applications for places near where you pick to live. You don't want to spend any more time commuting each day than you have to. We hear all these names of places thrown around like Brooklyn and Midtown and to us, it all seems like New York City because we just know what we know from TV. But I looked. It's like an hour commute from Brooklyn into the area of New York City where Central Park is."

"An hour?" Finn asked.

"Yes. So, looking at an apartment listing that says it's in Brooklyn could make it an hour commute to and from Rachel's school since it's in the heart of the city."

"Kurt, you never did tell me about whether you got a call back letter from NYADA."

"I did."

"That's great!" she exclaimed. "If you get in, maybe we could find a 2-bedroom place and it would cut down on the expenses by dividing them three ways, instead of two."

"I don't think so Rachel. I'm not up for living with a married couple. You two should look for a place just for the two of you."

Carole tried to lighten the conversation by changing the topic. "I was really surprised by the tie at Regionals. I didn't think that could happen."

"Neither did we," Rachel answered. "But we're preparing already, so it should be great. No last-minute stress like last year."

"That's good," Carole responded.

"The Warblers are excited. I guess they used to compete a few years back. But they had never competed in the show choir competitions until last year. So, getting to go to Nationals is new for everyone. We're not expecting to win. We're just putting on the best performance we can and having fun with it."

"I've been trying to get our group to see it that way. Hopefully, now that we have our songs, we'll get our parts down and start to have fun with it."

"Any fun plans for the weekend?" Burt asked.

"I have schoolwork and whatever still need done at the garage, so I'll be doing that tomorrow," Kurt answered.

"Same for me," Sebastian said.

"We're having guys night and girls night tomorrow evening. So, that should be fun," Finn said.

"I'll be baking some stuff during the day and making some snack trays," Rachel said.

"Sounds fun," Carole added.

"Did you invite Kendra?" Kurt asked.

"Oh, umm, no. She's not really in Glee."

"She is. She's my partner. She joined."

"She never auditioned," Rachel said.

"And you rejected Sugar's audition, yet she's in the group now."

"Fine, I'll call her and invite her."

"Only if you can do it and be nice about it. She may already have plans, but you should give her the opportunity to come or not. She's a good singer and she makes our group piece work better than it would have without her."

"Alright. I need her number though."

Kurt took his phone out and read Kendra's number off to Rachel.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll go do this right now before it gets any later." Rachel stood up from the table and went into the hallway bathroom.

Kurt looked at Finn. "You left me out on purpose. I'm not going to sit around and let that be done to someone else. It was hurtful and uncalled for."

"Look, dude. I'm sorry. When I first told them you didn't want to come, I didn't think you would."

"I'm not sure that counts as an apology, but I guess it's a start. You didn't know me well enough to know whether I would want to come, so it wasn't your place to answer for me."

"I get that."

"You get it now that Sam bitched all of you out."

"Kurt, language," Burt said.

"Sorry, Dad. Direct quote from Puck."

Burt nodded.

Rachel came back in the room and took her seat. "She thanked me and said that she already had plans."

"Well, at least you tried. Thanks," Kurt said.

"Is it alright if I clear the food and start to put it away?"

"Sure, Kurt. Unless someone wants something else," Carole answered.

Finn reached for another piece of chicken and another roll, and then scooped another serving of macaroni and cheese onto his plate.

Sebastian grabbed his place setting and Kurt's and followed Kurt into the kitchen, and then grabbed the plate of brownies and carried them back to the dining room and placed them on the table. He came back and loaded the dishes into the dishwasher while Kurt started to wash the pots and pans.

"You better go grab one of those brownies, if you want one because Finn will eat several and then ask if he can take the rest with him."

He scurried in the other room, put one on a napkin and brought it back with him, sitting it on the counter down from the sink. He kissed Kurt on the back of the neck and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. "I didn't realize that you hadn't told Rachel about the live audition letter."

"I didn't know what to do." Kurt lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper. "I know I can't afford to go there. There's still just something about proving that I could get in. Rachel's always 'let's do it together, but I'll stab you in the back and stand on your body to climb higher if necessary'."

"I get that."

"I know you do. You picked up on it in a very short period of time without even knowing her personally. I just get tired of being made to feel like I'm not good enough. And I guess I still have this feeling that everyone will see me going to school in Cincinnati as a consolation prize. It's stupid because the program in Cincinnati is ranked higher than NYADA, but New York City is where Broadway is so people automatically assume that the schools there are better."

"So, are you going to do the live audition?"

"I haven't made up my mind still."

"Well, if you decide to go through with it, I want to come watch you."

"Okay."

Finn cleared his throat behind them. Sebastian took a step back so Kurt could move, but didn't take his hands off of Kurt's waist.

"Is there something I can do for you, Finn?" Kurt asked.

"I, um, have my plates."

"The dishwasher's right there, Finn. Surely living with the Berrys hasn't caused you to forget how to use it."

"No."

"Then put your plates in."

"You two were standing right there."

"Yeah, so?"

"He's like hanging all over you."

"And that is different from how you and Rachel act in what way?"

"Never mind."

Carole came in the room. "What's going on? It never takes you that long to put plates in the dishwasher when there's dessert waiting."

"Right." Finn walked over to the dishwasher and put his and Rachel's place settings in and put the door back up. "Done." He turned and walked past Carole back into the dining room."

"Do I want to know?"

Sebastian answered, "I doubt it."

"Finn was bothered by Sebastian's proximity to me while I was washing the pots and pans next to the dishwasher."

"I see. And by proximity, you mean Sebastian was just standing there like he normally does. Basically, just standing close to you talking to you, like you're standing right now."

"Yep, you got it. No kissing, no groping, nothing but me washing dishes and him standing close to me and wrapping his hands around my waist and talking to me like he usually does."

"Does he act this way around Rachel's dads? I would think they would be fed up with it by now," Sebastian said.

"I don't know. I don't want to butt in when it's their household. He's an adult and they can deal with him however they see fit. But here, he's not going to act that way." She turned toward the dining room. "Finn, come in here for a minute."

"Yeah, Mom?"

She kept her voice down. "Why does seeing Kurt happy bother you?"

"I'm not bothered by him being happy. I don't understand the question."

"Why does seeing him be affectionate with someone bother you?"

"I don't like seeing anyone being affectionate with other people."

"Then why do you engage in PDA yourself, Finn?" Kurt asked. "I mean I could understand your answer IF I had never seen you and Rachel or anyone else kiss or be affectionate in public. But I'm not even in public. You ran a kissing booth at school. This is our kitchen. There's something more to it."

Rachel came in and heard what Kurt had said and stayed to listen to Finn's answer.

"No, not really. I just don't like it. I like hugging Rachel and her sitting on my lap and kissing her and stuff, but I don't like seeing other people do it."

Carole said, "Finn, that's a double standard. If it's okay for you to do, then it's okay for other people to do it as well. If you don't want to see it, then don't do it where other people can see you."

"So, you're honestly saying that if I were dating a girl, you'd be just as uncomfortable seeing me be affectionate with her as you are with me and Sebastian."

"I don't know. Maybe with you two it's just more uncomfortable because I don't know Sebastian. With the other people I see close like that, I know both people, so it's less weird, I guess. And to be honest, the things I've heard about Sebastian are bad. So, maybe part of it has to do with that."

"Kurt, finish the dishes. Sebastian, dry them and put them away. Finn, Rachel – back into the dining room for now." Carole grabbed everything else off the table and either packed it up or put it in the dishwasher, handing Kurt anything that needed washed by hand. Once they had finished, they went back into the dining room as well.

"Alright, we're moving this discussion to the living room where we can be a little more comfortable," Carole stated. Everyone got up and moved.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian sat in the oversized chair together. Sebastian wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders and they got comfortable. Rachel slipped her shoes off and sat in the chair with her feet pulled up into the seat since she was so small and Finn sat on the floor in front of her she had her hand on his shoulder. Burt and Carole sat on the couch. Carole initiated the conversation.

"We know there's something going on between the four of you that we don't understand. We've given you months to work it out between you without interfering and it hasn't worked. So, despite the fact that I'd rather not mediate, I am going to anyway, in hopes that we can work through this and move forward."

"Rachel knows most of what our issues are. I don't know whether she has shared those with Finn or not. I'm not sure how to proceed."

"So, you've told Sebastian?" she asked.

"Yes. I don't keep secrets from him. Plus, he figured some of it out on his own from things you posted on Facebook."

"I'm tired of the vague answers," Burt cut in. "Someone explain in plain English why Kurt and Rachel are feuding."

"I'm not aware of any reasons why she is upset with me. So, if she has some, she's free to state those first."

"You broke up with Blaine and started dating Sebastian."

"I hardly see how that is a reason for YOU to be upset with ME. It would make more sense if Blaine were upset about that. I don't see what it as to do with you."

"Well, he and I had a lot of plans for the four of us and you breaking up with him ruined those plans."

"Plans like?"

"We were going to get an apartment in New York together – the four of us."

"I see. But that couldn't have happened until a year from the fall because he's a junior."

"I know. He was planning to apply to a school in New York City too."

"I still don't see how this is a valid reason for you to be mad at me. The fact that I am not dating Blaine anymore does not affect you in any way personally. You can still go to college and get an apartment in New York, and if you want, you can still move to a new place for your second year of college and he can move in with you. Just because we are not together doesn't prevent you from going ahead with whatever plans you were making with him."

"It's not the same."

"That's still not a reason to be mad at me."

"So, is there something else?" Carole asked.

"He's just been ignoring me and giving me the cold shoulder. I just responded in kind."

"Does Kurt have valid reasons to be mad at you that might have caused him to purposefully ignore you?"

"I guess…"

"You guess?" Burt asked.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather finish with what she brought up first – the issue of me dating Sebastian. Although it has nothing to do with her personally, she has reacted as if it did. I don't understand."

"I know what he is. Blaine told me," Rachel said.

"And Rachel told me," Finn added.

"Blaine doesn't know anything," Sebastian stated emphatically. "I spent… let me think…" He paused calculating. "…not even 8 hours with him. And I might have spent a grand total of 15 minutes talking about myself during that entire time. Four of the hours were in a place with fairly loud music that didn't lend itself to much personal conversation. The other less than four hours consisted of us having coffee together, during which he talked about himself 90% of the time. I bet if you ask him, he can't even write down 10 factual pieces of information that he knows about me."

"And just what is it that you think he is?" Kurt asked.

"The gay version of Puck," she answered.

Kurt laughed.

"I don't really know anything about Puck, other than that he used to bully Kurt along with Finn and the other jocks. So, I'm not sure what that means because I've never bullied anyone."

"Puck sleeps around," Finn offered.

"Oh. I see. Well, that's not true. I've never slept with anyone."

"You sleep with Kurt," Finn said.

"I sleep in the same bed with Kurt. By 'sleep with' I assumed you meant 'have sex with'. Wasn't that the implied meaning, Finn?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, I still stand by what I said."

"Blaine said that you were hitting on him and that you're a one-night stand or hook-up kind of guy," Rachel said.

"He basically said you're a Paree… a Parisian manwhore."

"Not true about the one-night stands or hook-ups. I've never done either of those. I just said that I've never had sex with anyone, not that it was really any of your business. As for hitting on Blaine, I did. Kurt knows. I'm not comfortable explaining why because Blaine's not here to tell his side and saying things about people who aren't present is gossiping. But Kurt knows why. Since it doesn't affect your life personally, I don't see that telling you is reasonable."

Carole intervened. "So, Sebastian is not a 'free spirit' for lack of a better non-derogatory word to use, and even if he had been, I don't see why that's a reason for you to be upset with Kurt. Anyway, is there any other reason? In particular, a reason that affects you personally, Rachel?"

"I guess not."

"Finn?" Carole asked. "Has Sebastian done something to you personally that has offended you or given you some reason to dislike him?"

"No."

"Alright," Burt said. "What are the reasons you are or have been angry with Rachel?"

"You're serious? You want me to say them say them out loud with everyone in here?"

"Yes?" Burt answered cautiously.

"Alright. But remember that you asked me to do this. Rachel has pushed my contributions to the New Directions to being a back-up singer as often as she possibly could. Last year, after the duets competition, when she asked me to sing with her, I thought we were approaching a truce. I forgave her previous digs at me and I sang with her. I thought I left for Dalton with us on good terms. I brought Blaine to her party, where they got smashed and the two of them made out, right in front of me, I might add. Then they sang a flirty duet that involved a lot of physical innuendo and some touching, which also upset me, but I wrote it off to them both being drunk. I should add at this point, she KNEW that I had a crush on Blaine. A few days later, she asked him out on a date, which he agreed to. We met up the day afterward, and when I tried to be kind, even though I was really hurt, and I warned her that Blaine was gay, she actually said, 'Who cares about you, buddy? I might get a partner who can match me vocally and give me slightly Eurasian looking children.'"

"What?" Finn asked.

"You were with Quinn," she said.

"Kurt, go on," Carole said.

"So, you knew that I had a crush on him and you still tried to take a gay guy from me, just like you had taken all of the limelight in Glee all the time. For a girl with two fathers, you are very effeminophobic. I can keep up with you vocally and you know it. I have a larger vocal range than Blaine on both ends. Our vocal ranges are not the topic of this discussion though. So, that was the first specific thing she did that was really hurtful besides the constant pushing me to the background in Glee."

"Alright," Burt said.

"And I forgave her, even though she never apologized. When I came back to McKinley, I did my best to wipe the slate clean. I thought we had moved past those days. Then this fall happened. At first, she was all supportive, and acted like we were going to take New York City by storm together. Then the auditions for _West Side Story_ took place. When I asked her to reaudition with me and performed a section of Romeo and Juliet together, the scene called for me to kiss her. She balked at kissing me, which caused the directors to laugh. That's on them for not being professional enough to behave properly. But she had previously willingly walked up to Blaine and kissed him in the Lima Bean in public. But she balked at kissing me and ruined the scene, which I'm sure contributed to me not getting the part because the directors already considered me to be too feminine for the role. I was trying to show them that I could play a masculine role and she refused to kiss me. But when Blaine was cast as Tony, she was thrilled and she had no issues with kissing him during the play."

"I see," Burt said.

"So, that was the second thing. The third thing was when she saw Mercedes audition for Maria and she KNEW that Mercedes was better, she went to Coach Beiste and put her name in for the senior class president election. She knew that I had very little to put on my CV, while she had like 20 afterschool clubs and her voice and dance lessons and a recommendation from Ms. Corcoran, and her numerous leads in competition and whatever else she had. That wasn't enough. She had the tiniest scare that she wasn't going to get Maria and she tried to take the only school-related thing I could potentially do to boost my CV."

"But I dropped out and endorsed you."

"Too little, too late, Rachel. So that was the third thing. The fourth thing was the election itself. You stuffed the ballot boxes, and I realize that you feel like you paid for your crime by being suspended for a week and not getting to sing at sectionals, but I didn't get a do-over for the election. I didn't cheat, but I got disqualified. The election should have been redone, but it wasn't. I just lost because you cheated."

"I didn't mean to get you disqualified."

"I understand that, but you didn't think. And what you did hurt me. The fifth thing also has to do with _West Side Story_ and a pact you made with Blaine."

"We don't need to talk about that," Rachel said. "You and I have already talked about this."

"That may very well be, but I was asked by my father to explain the reasons that I am upset with you."

"What was the pact?" Burt asked.

"I can give you the basics, but since I wasn't part of it, I could get the details wrong. I will defer to Rachel to explain."

"I'd rather not."

"Alright. Final chance. You explain or I'll tell what I know."

She didn't say anything. Finn and Sebastian looked like they wished they could be anywhere besides where they were.

"It seems that all four of you know, so spill, Kurt," Burt said.

"Artie told the two of them that they didn't act like two people who had sexual awakenings and asked them about their first times. When he didn't get an answer, he suggested that they open themselves up to experiencing this awakening, which they made a pact to do before opening night."

"Oh, God," Carole said. "That was really inappropriate. Finn, why don't you go get all of us some drinks?"

"Sure, Mom."

"Hurry up and tell the rest of this," Carole said and Rachel do NOT repeat whatever he says to Finn or anyone else."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Blaine did not seduce me the way you attempted to seduce Finn to keep your part of the pact. Instead, he got drunk and tried to coerce me in the back of a car, and didn't listen when I said 'no', loudly and repeatedly. I eventually got free and got out of the car. But if things had gone differently – I don't want to think about it. Your pact with him nearly cost me my virginity without my consent. You made a pact with someone to do something that didn't involve just your own body. If you wanted to do something in real life so you could be more believable doing it as an actress and you told the other person why you were doing it, that's fine. But what you did was wrong, Rachel. I didn't find out until after the fact, which is why I listed it as the fifth and last reason."

"I didn't know. I swear," Rachel said, pulling her feet up under her tighter.

"That changes nothing, Rachel. That's on him. What he did was on him. What you did is on you. It cost him our relationship. That was the final straw with him. I broke it off with him and with you."

"I see," she said.

Finn came back in the room with an armload of cans of drinks and sat them down on the coffee table.

"Thanks, Finn," Carole said.

"Sure." He picked one up for him and for Rachel and handed it to her.

Sebastian leaned forward and grabbed one. He opened it and took a drink and handed it to Kurt. He knew Kurt would never drink a whole one, but he would take a sip when offered, which he did and then gave it back to Sebastian.

"So, as I see it," Burt started, "Kurt has a list of legitimate reasons to be upset with you, Rachel. And none of your reasons seemed like reasons to be feuding, unless there's something you didn't mention earlier, Rachel."

"He was vocally opposed to Finn and me getting married."

"I still stand by that. I'm allowed to have an opinion. I think getting married in high school is silly. All I suggested was that you wait. I never said that you shouldn't get married ever. I just saw no reason why you couldn't wait until this summer. Finn was already allowed to stay over at your house. Getting married didn't lift Dad's ban on significant others under the age of 18 spending the night here. It just didn't make any sense to me. It's not like not being married kept you from having sex. You haven't gotten into college or made a final decision on where you'll be in 5 months. It just seem premature to me. Finn's not even sure what he wants to do yet. What if he realizes that the only place he can learn to do what he wants to do is in Texas or something? You can't live in the NYADA dorms as a married person. Singles only. You'll have to live off campus. Even if he figures out what he wants to do, he'll have to wait until you finish school and get a job that pays enough for him to only work 10-15 hours a week because Finn can't go to school full time and work full time or more than full time. My opinion stands. Getting married before you had EACH decided on your career path was premature. I did a ton of research on New York City last fall. It's insanely expensive to live there. By marrying you, Finn just agreed to work 40-60 hours a week to pay for half of the expenses on an apartment there. He doesn't even know if he'll like living in New York City."

""He'll be with me. It will be fine."

"And that may very well be true. But I didn't come to my opinion willy-nilly. I researched things for myself last fall. I wish you both the best. I really do. I would never wish unhappiness on someone. Seriously – whether you're mad at me or not, you know me well enough to know that. I even made amends with Dave and I don't wish him unhappiness. I just didn't see what the rush was. And you were super rude about the wedding to me and Sebastian. Anyway, I have stated my reasons. I actually have homework that I really need to work on because I have to work tomorrow and I have plans for Sunday. So, unless there is something else that someone needs to know, I'd like to be excused – and Sebastian too." Kurt stood up and Sebastian followed his lead. They took a couple of steps toward the hall.

Rachel spoke up. "I have another question."

They both turned around.

Kurt responded, "Alright."

"Why does Sebastian live here?"

"Because we invited him to," Carole answered. "The rest is no one's business besides Sebastian's. He is part of this family. That isn't going to change."

"How long has he lived here?"

"Since winter break," Kurt answered.

"How long have you two actually been dating?"

"Since January 20th, so not quite 2½ months."

"Why did you hit on Blaine if you weren't interested?"

Sebastian suppressed his urge to roll his eyes and answered calmly. "I have my reasons, and sharing them would involve gossiping, which I am not going to do. But if your roundabout question is whether I liked Blaine before I liked Kurt, the answer is no." He stepped behind Kurt and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I met Blaine before I met Kurt. But I was not romantically interested in Blaine at any point in time. Kurt and I started hanging out about three weeks after he had broken up with Blaine. We became friends. I started spending more time with him. We became closer friends. He asked me out a little over two months after we had become friends, which was three months after he had broken up with Blaine. Other than my initial less than 8 hours of spending time with Blaine right after he came to Dalton with the tickets to _West Side Story _back in October, I haven't spent any other time alone with him. Obviously after he came back to Dalton, I've spent four hours a week with him in Warblers rehearsals, but we don't talk."

Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight to his right hip. "Is there anything else that doesn't involve talking about Blaine that you want to know Rachel? Because if it's just curiosity and trying to fit what you've heard from Blaine with what you've heard tonight, then I'd suggest you attempt to get Blaine to meet with the three of us and if he wants to answer your questions with us present, then I'm willing to participate, but as Sebastian has pointed out, he's not going to gossip, meaning sharing rumors he's heard, about Blaine. I told you all I'm going to tell you and I expect you to kept your word about not spreading information that's not yours to tell."

"Right." She nodded noticing the glare she was getting from Carole.

Kurt reiterated, "This isn't a game, Rachel. You agreed in front of your in-laws to keep the information to yourself."

"Yes, of course." She nodded again.

"So, if there's nothing else, I have homework to do." He took a step toward the stairs.

"I have a French paper to write," Sebastian added, also moving toward the stairs.

"You two are free to go up and do your homework," Burt said.

"We'll be up and gone by the time you two get up tomorrow morning. We have very early plans, and then we'll be heading right to the shop to get to work. We'll be there until 3:00 or 4:00."

Burt nodded his head. Kurt and Sebastian headed up the stairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian closed and locked the door behind them after they went in their room.

Kurt plopped down on the end of the bed. "Well, I didn't expect that," Kurt said. "If she breathes a word of it, I will never speak to her again."

He sat down next to Kurt and took his hand. "Do you trust her to keep it quiet?"

"Not at all."

"How will you know?"

Kurt leaned over and put his head on Sebastian's shoulder briefly. "I'm imagining that it's more likely that you will know since you're the one who sees Blaine. If she calls him and asks him, you'll know by the dagger stares I imagine you'll get from him. He has obviously managed to keep Rachel as a friend, even though he went back to Dalton. And by the way she was talking, they're pretty close."

"I don't think he'll do anything, other than maybe give me dagger looks. The school won't tolerate him bullying me and he doesn't have any dirt on me. It's the other way around, so I think he'll just keep it quiet even if she asks him questions."

Kurt sat back up. "I don't think we'll be required to spend another family night dinner with Finn and Rachel though. So, I guess that's the up side." He stood up and started to undress.

"She didn't apologize."

"She never does." He walked into the closet to deposit his clothes into the laundry basket.

"Alright. There's nothing we can do about them. Either she changes or she doesn't. So, homework?" Sebastian asked before he turned around and realized that Kurt was already completely undressed.

"Let's shower first."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

About a half hour later, there was knocking on their door. Kurt tossed Sebastian some pajamas and grabbed some for himself.

He put them on fast and unlocked the door, checking first that Sebastian had managed to get the pajamas on.

"Hey, Dad." Kurt stepped back and let Burt in the room. He went and sat back on the end of the bed.

Burt walked over to the chair and sat down.

"I'm sorry, Kurt."

"For what?" Kurt pulled his legs up and criss-crossed them. Sebastian sat down next to him, but dangled his legs off the side facing the window.

"For making you answer what had happened. At least Carole had the forethought to make Finn leave the room for long enough for you to explain it. But you shouldn't have had to explain that part of it unless you wanted to, which you obviously didn't since only Sebastian knew. It's just that your answer was nowhere on the radar of what I expected you to say. You gave me hints, but I just didn't put two and two together. You mentioned breaking up with him over an issue of needing to retain some self-respect. And you had also once mentioned knowing that you could protect yourself if you needed to, and that you had appreciated my talk on how you mattered. I never pieced them together and realized that he had tried to force or coerce you."

"It was over five months ago at this point, Dad. I'm over it. I'm just not over Rachel's involvement because she's done things for so long and I've forgiven her and given her far too many chances and I'm done for right now. Maybe at some point in the future, I will have moved on and all of it will be far enough in the past, that it won't be an issue anymore. When it happened, I was more angry than afraid. I was hurt, not physically injured – broken-hearted hurt. He broke my trust. I broke up with him the next night – end of issues with him. I'm not saying that I forgive him and that I've forgotten what happens, but I've moved on. It happened. I didn't let it happen again."

"Well, I'm sorry that we, mostly me, I'm sorry I forced your hand to tell something that didn't need to be aired in that way."

Kurt sat there for a moment. "I've already done what I can about it. He says he been going to see the counselor at Dalton. Sebastian says that the counselor is good. Blaine says he's better than the therapist he saw after he came out. All I can hope for is that he keeps his word and doesn't drink anymore. Going to the police would not have helped since you know as well as I do that they don't care about 'squabbles' between teenagers and since it was just as case of 'could have', there's nothing they would have done."

"I know. I know. Knowing your luck around here, they would have charged you with something too. It's definitely better not to have gone to them over something that you had no proof of. I hope he is getting some help."

"The only thing I can really hope for now is that Rachel doesn't say anything to anyone, which is like hoping it won't snow in December. She's a huge gossip, but I guess there's less of a chance with this because she looks bad in the story."

"I reminded her before they left that she had agreed to keep what she was told quiet, so I guess we'll see." Burt paused for a moment. "Sebastian, I want to tell you that I'm proud of you for refusing to answer her nosy questions and for refusing to gossip. You had a chance to throw Blaine under the bus and didn't. Just know that we're here for you, if you ever need to talk about something, Carole and I won't share what you tell us. We'll just help if we can, and if we can't we'll do our best to find someone who can."

"Thanks."

"We won't be repeating tonight's family dinner any time in the future. If and when Rachel grows up and apologizes to you sincerely, and if you decide to forgive her, then we'll reconsider. Carole's heartbroken right now. She knew you had real reasons to be opposed to them getting married, but she thought that most of them just had to do with their immaturity, but her finding out that it there was more to it than just simple teen stupidity – it's hard for her to deal with. In case you two didn't look at the calendar downstairs, I'm home for the next two weeks. There's a congressional recess for spending time in our home districts to keep in touch with our constituents. So, of course, there will be some political stuff I have to go to, but I'll be at the shop and home some of the time."

"We did actually know," Kurt said. "Sam needs a car next weekend and it's a weekend I was going to go to Dalton since Sebastian has a game. So, that's the only issue that I know of that we need to work out somehow."

"We can arrange that somehow, I'm sure. I'll let the two of you get to work on whatever it was you came up here to get done."

Kurt pointed to the stack of books on the vanity. "That's my stack. Sebastian's going to work on a French paper. We're going to Puck's right after we get up in the morning. Sarah's birthday party is tomorrow and he needs help frosting the cake. He said she's getting old enough to care what it looks like and he's terrible at putting the frosting on."

"Sebastian and Puck have a lot in common," Burt said. "I'm sure the cake will look great after you frost it. You're a good friend, Kurt. I'm proud of both of you. Carole and I may go out for dinner tomorrow. I'm not sure yet."

"Alright," Kurt said.

Burt got up and took a few steps toward the door. "I'm just really sad that you went through that alone, Kurt." He just shook his head and left the room.

Kurt got up and shut and locked the door. He turned the light off and went back to the bed and climbed in. He sat as close to Sebastian as he could get. Sebastian put his arm around Kurt's shoulder. "I don't honestly think I can focus right now."

"What would you like to do?"

"Turn the rest of the lights off, turn some music on, get undressed, and get back in the bed and snuggle."

"Sounds perfect." He leaned over and kissed Kurt on the temple. He got up and turned some jazz music on, the rest of the lights off and left his pajamas by the door. He walked over to the bed and Kurt handed him his pajamas, which he folded and put by the door as well. He got back in bed to find that Kurt had his phone in his hand.

"I sent Carole a text telling her that we decided to go to sleep early, so she wouldn't come up and knock since it's only 9:30."

"Good idea. She's in a tough place."

"She is and there's no good solution."

"Big spoon, little spoon?"

"Mmm… Kisses." Kurt scooted toward Sebastian and he rolled on his side to face him.

Sebastian rolled on his side and kissed Kurt. "Always." Sebastian wrapped his hand around the side of Kurt's neck and ran his fingers through his hair. "I love you, Kurt."

"I love you too, Bas, so, so much."

The difficulty of the evening seeped through and tears streamed down Kurt's cheeks silently. Sebastian wiped them away and held Kurt closed without saying anything else. After a few minutes of gentle, reassuring kisses, Kurt turned over to be the little spoon and they fell asleep.


	22. Chapter 22

Kurt woke up wrapped up in Sebastian's arms. He felt so loved. He lay there for a few minutes just soaking in the feeling of being held. He turned over carefully, keeping himself wrapped in Sebastian's arms. He kissed him on each eyelid gently, then on the lips. _"Bas, mon joyau, we have to get up."_

Sebastian nuzzled closer and mumbled, _"Kisses"._

"_Yes, of course, kisses, but it's more fun to kiss you when you kiss back unless you want me to kiss you other places."_ Kurt moved a bit and started kissing Sebastian's jaw and then down his neck.

Sebastian rolled to his back and pulled Kurt on top of him as he did.

"_Umm. I see."_ Kurt repositioned himself a bit and started kissing down Sebastian chest.

Sebastian stopped him.

"_You don't want me to?"_

"_It's not that I don't want you to. I just really want to kiss you too."_

Kurt moved back up.

"_Lie back down on me instead of sitting on your knees."_

"_Okay."_ Kurt stretched back out and they resumed kissing. _"Better?"_

"_Mmm hmm." _ He ran his hands up and down Kurt's back gently, eventually resting them just below Kurt's waist to avoid potentially putting pressure on the lower bruised area. _"Just two more months and I get to wake up with you every morning," _he said when they broke apart for air. _"And tomorrow we're going to go look for our own place."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they got out of the shower, they dressed casually since their plans only included going to work after helping Puck. They grabbed a couple of cereal bars each to stave off their hunger since they had spent far too much time in bed after they woke up. They pulled up to Puck's place at 7:00.

Puck opened the door quietly as they stepped up on the stoop. They stepped inside and didn't say anything, assuming that everyone else in the house was still asleep. They followed Puck to the kitchen. He had the can of frosting and the three layers of cake out on the counter.

Kurt kept his voice low. "Heat some water in a pan about half the height of the frosting container."

Puck got a small pot out and did what Kurt said. Kurt pulled out a frosting spatula that he had wrapped in paper towels out of his messenger bag. He put it on the counter.

"Once the water heats up, put the container in the water. We'll stir it and when it gets to the right texture, we'll take it out and use it."

"I see why it doesn't work when I do it. I just used it straight out of the container."

"It's too stiff that way and it tears the cake a lot of the time."

"How did you learn this?"

Kurt was stirring the frosting until it softened while they were talking.

"I'm not even sure. I must have seen it on some cooking show or a video."

"Oh. Maybe I should try watching cooking videos. Sarah's getting old enough to be willing to try new stuff."

"That's how both of us learned to cook," Sebastian said. "TV shows mostly for me, and Kurt learned from TV and videos."

"I'll look into it."

"You can do this in a microwave, but I think it takes just as long because you have to do it in like 5-second intervals and if you do it too long just once, then you have to stand around and wait for it to rethicken enough not to just be a pourable mess."

Kurt took the frosting out and stirred it one last time. "There. See the texture?"

Puck stirred it himself. "Got it."

"We need a sharp knife."

Puck opened a drawer and pulled out a long, thin-bladed knife and laid it on the counter.

"Just slice the raised sections in the center of each layer off."

Puck did and popped the thin slices into his mouth.

"So, you start by doing the tops of the layers. So, put this layer on whatever the cake is being served on."

Puck pulled out a solid white plate and put the bottom layer on it.

"So, you just spread not quite a quarter of the frosting on the top. And then start stacking them."

Puck spread the frosting on.

"Now, stack this one on top and do the same thing."

Puck followed his directions.

"Perfect. Now, flip the top layer so the bottom is on the top because the bottom is completely flat."

"Good point." Puck turned it over and very carefully stacked it. He took the frosting spreader and spread another quarter of the frosting on the top.

"Now, all you have is the sides. That's where the frosting spreader is useful than because it doesn't knick the cake like knives can and it's long enough to do the whole side all at once. So, just carefully start to spread the remaining frosting around the edge. If it starts to get to stiff, stick the container back in the warm water for a little bit."

Puck took his time and did his best to make it look good. "Well, it's the best I've ever done. It looks a lot better than normal, but I still want it to look nicer. Can you work your magic on it while I watch?"

Kurt took the spatula and moved it around through the frosting, getting it nice and even with little waves in it.

"Perfect. Now, I've got the sprinkles she wanted, but I have no idea how to write her name in sprinkles like she asked me to."

"I just need a tiny funnel or a piece of paper."

"No can do on the tiny funnel, but I'll get a sheet of paper. Just a minute."

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist from behind. "You're amazing." He kissed him on the back of the neck. He startled and jumped back a bit when Puck came back in.

"Don't worry about me. I'm not like Finn. You hugging him is not going to bother me. I already told him that he deserved someone who really cared."

Sebastian nodded and smiled.

"So, I got the paper."

Kurt folded it and turned it into a funnel. "I'd normally suggest that you tape or staple it, but since I'm going to do it this time, we'll skip that."

"Got it. I'll use tape if I ever do it myself."

"So give me an idea. Big, small, curved, straight, printed, cursive? Anything besides just her name?"

"Nope. No hints. She just said 'Noah, please write my name on the top with the chocolate sprinkles.' She knows I'm not good at this, but I try."

"Okay, then. Go grab the tape because I want you to be able to say that you did it yourself."

Puck left and came back with some tape. Once it was taped up, Kurt had him practice on a plate and then he poured the sprinkles back into the makeshift funnel.

"So, now either practice again or go ahead and write on the cake."

Puck used the plate one more time. "Okay. I think I got it."

Kurt poured the sprinkles back into the funnel again. Puck took a deep breath and wrote as neatly as he could across the center of the cake. When he finished, he stepped back.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself."

Just then, they heard the pitter patter of small feet. Sarah came bounding into the kitchen and then froze for a second.

"These are my friends Kurt and Sebastian."

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Happy birthday, cutie," Kurt said.

"Thank you."

She came into the room farther and she saw the cake.

"Noah, it's AMAZING. It's the most beautiful birthday cake ever. Thank you!" She threw her arms around his waist. He stepped back and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist instantly. "I love it. It's perfect."

Noah kissed her on the cheek. "I'm glad you like it. I have one present for you to open before your party." He motioned for the two of them to follow them.

Kurt took his phone out of his pocket and opened the camera.

Sarah picked the package up and sat on Puck's lap and took the paper off carefully. "Oh, Noah. It's one of the dresses like in the magazines at the library. I love it. Can I put it on now just to look at it? I'll take it back off and put it back on right before my party so I won't get it dirty."

"Yes, you can go try it on."

She ran out of the room and down the hallway.

"Send me those pictures, okay?"

"Of course."

A couple of minutes later, she was back. "Noah, I don't know how to zip it when the zipper is on the back. And I need you to tie the bow."

Puck reached and zipped it up, but looked at Kurt with a completely lost look on his face.

"Hey Sarah, can I show Noah how to tie the bow the fancy way?" Kurt asked before approaching her.

"Sure." She turned her back so that Kurt could reach her.

Puck paid very close attention to the way Kurt wrapped the ribbon and tied the bow so that he could do it himself the next time.

"There! All done."

She stepped away from them and twirled in a circle. "It's the most beautiful dress ever. I love it, Noah. Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Kurt showed me where the store was that had the dress."

"Thank you, Kurt. I always wanted one, but we never see them here."

"I'm glad you like it. It looks beautiful on you."

"Do you know how to do braids too?"

"I do. Would you like me to put braids in your hair?"

"Yes! Noah, show him the picture you took of the braids in the magazine."

Puck took his phone out and showed Kurt a picture of a young girl with the front half of her hair double French braided with the braids hanging down into the back half of her hair hanging loose.

"Can you do it like that?" she asked.

"Definitely, but you have to be willing to sit still for a little bit. It takes a little time to get it like that."

"I will sit very, very still if you will do that to my hair," she promised. "I even have some little ribbons you can put on the bottom like hers." She ran off to her room and came back to two ribbons, two hair ties, a brush and a comb. She put them on the coffee table and paused for a second. "I can't get the dress off by myself."

Puck reached over and untied the bow and unzipped the dress. She ran off and came back wearing a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants.

"Do you have a shirt that buttons or a robe, so you don't have to pull the shirt off over your head after I put the braids in?"

"Oh. Um. Maybe? I'll go look."

She was gone a few minutes and came back wearing a zip up hoodie. "Is this good enough? I don't have a robe or any shirts that button."

"That will work just fine. Now, we just need a chair."

Puck got up and brought one from the kitchen.

Sarah sat down in and criss-crossed her legs and sat very still. "Like this?"

"Excellent. If I pull too hard, just let me know. I have to pull it a little to get the hair in the right places for the braids, but I don't want to hurt you, okay?"

"Okay."

Kurt got started and about 15 minutes later, Sarah's hair looked nearly identical to the photo. He fastened the bows in securely so they would stay. "All done."

"That wasn't nearly as long as I thought you meant. Thank you!" She ran off to the bathroom. "I can't see the back."

"Come out here, Sarah, and I'll take picture of the back so you can see," Puck said.

She stood against the wall forwards, then showing both sides, and then the back. As soon as the last photo was done, she moved to Puck. "Let me see!"

He turned the phone around and showed her all four pictures.

"I look like a princess! Thank you, Kurt."

"Sebastian and I brought you a small present."

"Really?"

Kurt took a tiny bottle of nail polish that matched her new dress out of his satchel and handed it to her. She unwrapped it.

"Nail polish!" she squealed. "Am I old enough now, Noah? Can I please wear it for my party?" She bounced up and down.

"Yes, Sarah. You can wear it for the party."

She had a huge smile on her face, but then it dissipated. "I don't know how to put it on. I need help."

"I'll do it," Kurt said. "Let me see your fingers."

She held out her hands.

"Well, I think we need some clippers first. And then we'll get started."

She ran off and came back with some clippers. She sat on the coffee table facing Kurt. Kurt trimmed her nails up neatly and then painted her fingernails and toenails. He told her to sit still and let them dry. Instead of moving, she started asking questions.

"How are you so good at girly things since you're a boy?"

"Oh." He paused trying to think of a good answer. "I've always had a lot more friends that were girls than friends that were boys. So, I learned hanging around with them."

"That's cool. Maybe you can teach Noah how to do some of the girly things so he can do them with me."

"I can do that."

"He knows how to do to the regular braids, but not any fancy ones."

"Well, maybe sometime I can teach him how to do a few fancy ones."

"Yay! This is the best birthday ever. All of my friends are coming after lunch. It's going to be so much fun."

"I bet it will be."

"We're having chocolate milk with my chocolate cake with pink icing and chocolate sprinkles. We got a jug of white milk too, in case someone wants white milk."

"It sounds delicious. Let me check your fingernails."

She stuck her hands back out.

"Okay. Five more minutes. Sebastian and I need to get going soon because we have to go to our jobs."

"Where do you work?"

"I'm a mechanic. Sebastian does the books. That means he does the math part about keeping track of the money people pay to have their cars worked on."

"That's cool. So, can you like fix a whole car?"

"I can."

"Wow. You're not very old to be able to fix a whole car."

"Well, I started learning to fix cars when I was 8, like you are now."

"Really?"

"Really. Every day I went to the shop after school and my dad taught me how to fix cars."

"That's super cool. I want to start to learn to do something cool, Noah. Now, that I'm 8, I'm big enough to learn to do lots of things."

"You're right. I'll start teaching you how to cook next."

"Cooking is lots of fun," Sebastian said. "I learned to cook when I was young too. Just like Kurt and your brother."

"You're new friends are weird, Noah, because I don't know any other boys that cook besides you. But I like your new friends better than your old ones. None of them know how to do anything cool, except Sam."

Kurt tried not to laugh, picturing any of the football team knowing how to do anything besides eat and belch.

"You're right, Squirt. My new friends are cooler. It's not cool to grow up and not know how to take care of yourself. It's cool to know how to cook and sew and braid hair and fix cars and all that stuff. Maybe one day this summer, I'll take you over to the shop where they work and you can see what a mechanic shop looks like on the inside."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"That would be super cool."

"You can get up now, Sarah," Kurt said after he checked her nails again.

"Thank for my nail polish and fixing my hair."

"You're welcome." Kurt turned to Sebastian. "Did you bring your camera?"

"Yeah. It's in my bag."

"Hey, Sarah. Go put your dress back on. Sebastian's a really good photographer and he has his real camera with him. He'll take some birthday pictures of you before we go."

She got up and ran off to her room and came back with the dress. Puck zipped it up and watched Kurt tie the ribbon again.

"Do you have some shoes that will go with your dress?"

"Um, not really. The only shoes I have that fit are my winter boots."

"Alright, do you think your feet can stand to be outside with no shoes for a few minutes?"

"Sure." She headed for the back door. The three teens followed her. "How about by my favorite tree?"

"Perfect," Sebastian said. He posed her and stood back and moved her around a few times and took about 20 pictures from different angles. "You did great!"

"Can I see?"

"Sure." He set the camera so the photos could be seen on the view screen.

"I look like a princess! A real princess."

"You do. We'll print some and bring them over some time."

"I'd like that. I don't have any pictures like that. Printed ones I mean. We never order the ones from school. Mostly they're not very good, but they're also really expensive."

"I always thought the same thing," Kurt said.

She laughed. "Those are much nicer."

"I agree," Kurt said as they walked back into the house. "We have to get going now."

"Have fun at your party," Sebastian said.

"I will."

Puck walked them to the door and stepped out onto the stoop.

Kurt stepped closer and hugged Puck, who was startled, but then went with it.

"You're way more badass than I ever thought. You just needed to lose the jackass part, which you've done. You're an amazing brother." He stepped back and stepped down off the stoop. "Have fun with all those little girls running around in a few hours."

They waved as they climbed into the Navigator.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Why are you crying?" Sebastian reached out and put his hand on Kurt's leg.

Fortunately, they were close to the shop. Kurt wiped his eyes and focused on driving. After he pulled into a parking space, he answered. "Everyone was so wrong about him. I hated him for a while, freshman year and the beginning of sophomore year. He used to toss me into the dumpster."

"I remember you telling me."

"But you saw her. She's perfect. She's happy and polite and grateful. He did that. All we saw was a pool boy who slept around. And at home, he was raising that beautiful little girl. I didn't even know he had a sister until he said he had to get home after he picked us up at the airport. I've known him for nearly 4 years and had no idea that he was raising his sister. I knew he had a deadbeat mother and that his dad ran off like 10 years ago, well I guess 8 years ago given his sister's age."

"That doesn't really explain why you're crying."

"He insisted that he could take care of Beth. And Quinn refused. She said he was a Lima Loser and she put Beth up for adoption. He couldn't prove that he could provide for her and he was a minor, so he couldn't do much since no judge would give custody of a newborn to an unemployed 16 year old whose own mother was unfit. He sacrificed Beth to keep Sarah. I just now realized that. He signed the adoption papers knowing that if he tried to keep Beth that the state would look into his living situation and he and Sarah would get taken away from their mother and they might get split up in foster care."

"Wow. What a horrible choice to have to make so young."

"Everyone was awful to him, Bas. I wasn't anything to him. I stayed as far away as I could because he had just started to reform after joining Glee. But his 'so-called' friends..." Kurt wiped his eyes. "And then Shelby came back this fall and he got to be around Beth for a couple of months and she left again and took Beth away again. God, that must have broken his heart – to have her here and then ripped right back away. And he can't even move to wherever Shelby went because he's Sarah's caregiver. I wonder if he's turned 18 yet. I bet he has. I wonder if he could get custody of Sarah himself."

"I have no idea."

"Me neither." Kurt wiped his eyes again. "We need to get inside and get busy. We're already getting started an hour later than I had planned after playing hairdresser and manicurist with Sarah."

"You're going to end up with an 8-year old with a crush on you."

"I already have one – Sam's little sister, Stacey."

"Oh, dear. Two little princesses with a crush on my boyfriend." Sebastian laughed.

"Come on. Enough teasing."

They got out and went inside.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Burt stopped by the shop at lunch and brought Kurt and Sebastian some lunch.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Carole said the two you had gone to sleep early and you headed out this morning really quickly. She knew that you hadn't packed anything. She packed it. I'm sure you'll like whatever it is."

Kurt opened the mini-cooler. He handed Sebastian a pack of raw vegetables and a bag with a peeled orange in it and took the same for himself. "She did a good job. I'll text her after we finish."

"She felt awful last night. She was going to go up and talk to you, but you said you were going to sleep, so she didn't go up."

"It's not her fault. She doesn't need to feel bad."

"Well, being a mom and feeling guilty isn't always logical. She can know that Finn's 18 and that the choices he makes are all on him, but she still feels like he makes bad choices because of something she did wrong. Moms are like that sometimes, it seems."

"Well, I'll tell her later than I don't blame her. She didn't make Rachel a self-centered person who sees everyone in her life as an accessory."

"Wow, you're not mincing words today," he said.

"You already know now. I've been nice about it for a long time. Who knows, maybe if we had stood up to her more at school, maybe we could have influenced her. I don't see how, but I guess it's possible. She just stomps off and Mr. Schue lets her get away with it."

"What's his problem? I thought he cared about you kids."

"He does, in general. But he cares more about certain kids than others."

"Favoritism."

"Definitely. And Finn and Rachel are definitely his favorites."

"I see."

Kurt reached in and grabbed his sandwich and started eating it, saving the orange for dessert.

"Ooh. Chicken salad. It's really good."

"I'll let you two finish that up. I'm going to put on my coveralls and go tear something apart in a useful way."

Kurt laughed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt plopped on the bed. "I'm so tired of doing time-consuming homework. If I actually got feedback on it, at least I'd feel like it was worth doing. I write well-thought out answers and I can't even tell if my teachers read them or just said, 'Nope, not today, 100% for Kurt,' just so they don't have to read it."

"Surely not."

"You'd be surprised." Kurt bumped shoulders with him. "I'd rather just read books I want to read. Someday, not too long from now, no one will tell us what to read anymore and we'll just read what we want."

"Well, study fast. We're leaving in an hour and a half so we can pick those photos back up and stop by Goodwill for a frame and show up on time to drop them off before Sarah leaves for the night."

"Pre-calculus and French it is then. Two things I can complete in that length of time with minimal effort."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt put the window cleaner, a roll of paper towels, and a pair of scissors in the back seat and they headed off to Sam's Club to pick up the photos. He spent less than $4 and got an 8x10, a 5x7, and 10 wallets for Sarah to give to her friends if she wanted to. They grabbed the photos and a pizza and headed to Goodwill.

They looked through the frames quickly and found two frames and paid for them. They opened the back of the Navigator and cleaned the frames and put the photos in. They printed one of the full-body shots for the 8x10 and a waist-up shot for the 5x7 and the wallets. While Sebastian reassembled the last frame, Kurt cut the wallet photos apart. They headed to Puck's as soon as they were done.

Kurt knocked on the door.

Puck opened it and was surprised to see them.

"We said we'd bring the photos, so here we are. And we brought a pizza too. It's just cheese because I didn't know what toppings Sarah might like.

"Who's here?"

"It's Kurt and Sebastian."

She popped out of her room. "Everyone loved my dress. We had so much fun. Noah got me another present and it was two whole outfits for my Barbie with a hat and a purse. Wanna see my other gifts?"

"Sure," Sebastian answered.

"What's Kurt have?"

"A pizza for you," Sebastian said.

"For me?"

"Well, you can share it if you want," Kurt answered.

"Are we going to eat it for dinner, Noah?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Well, I guess she wants to eat the pizza," Puck said and laughed. "Come on. I'll turn the oven on."

Kurt followed him to the kitchen and sat the pizza down on the table.

"You didn't have to bring her something else."

"I know. I wanted to. The photos are in my bag." Kurt pulled his satchel off his shoulder and put it on the table and opened it. He pulled out both frames and the envelope with the wallets in it. He sat the frames up on the table.

"Oh, my God, Kurt. Those look like they were done at a studio. Sebastian's really good. And those frames are really nice. I can't pay you for all of that."

"I'm not asking you to and just so you don't feel terrible, it was like $8 for all of it. I got the frames at Goodwill and printed the photos at Sam's Club."

"Okay. Well, I don't feel so bad. I've looked at frames before and ones like that are like more than 10 bucks. You two should be the ones to give them to her though."

"Alright. Come on. Carry the wallets."

Puck picked the envelope up and followed Kurt.

"Kurt and Sebastian brought the photos back."

Kurt showed her the framed photos.

She looked at them carefully. "I look like one of the girls in the magazines." She had a huge smile on her face.

"You most certainly do," Kurt agreed. "So you can keep one for your room and Noah can put the other one in his room or somewhere else."

She chose the 8x10 for herself. "I want this one because you can see my whole dress in it."

"Very well, then. This one is yours." He handed Puck the 5x7. He took it and put it on the stand the TV was on.

"Oh, they printed some small ones so you can give them to your friends like some of the girls do."

"Really?"

Puck handed her the envelope and she opened it.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome."

She ran off to put the framed photo and the envelope in her room. And ran right back and started showing Sebastian her presents again.

Puck spoke quietly to Kurt. "You're the king of shopping. She's outgrown like everything she had, which wasn't much. And she started caring about how her clothes look this year, which is going to make it harder. I've got like $25, maybe $30. Is there any chance you might help me find some clothes for her?"

"Sure. We'll go shopping, but you'll have to come too. She's only met me just the once and you don't want her thinking that she should go off in cars with guys she's just met once."

"Right. We'll figure out a time to go. I'll be back." Puck went and put the pizza in the oven.

"When are the guys getting here?"

"Oh, they moved it to Mike's house. The next-door neighbor's kid is sick. I didn't want Sarah over there around him."

"Oh. Okay."

Sarah had opened her new crayons and she and Sebastian were coloring together.

"He's good with her too."

"He used to babysit to make money."

"He's not who everyone thinks he is."

"Not at all, but that's his story to tell, not mine."

"Not that my opinion counts for much, but I like him. He's a not a male clone of Berry."

"Very true." Kurt walked back toward the kitchen to put the pizza into the oven and Puck followed. "Puck, where's your mom?"

Puck didn't answer. He turned his back to the living room. "I don't know. She hasn't been home in months."

"How do you pay the bills?"

"We're on Section 8. No rent. I pay the electricity and internet. We get food stamps and free lunch at school. But if they find out she's not here, I don't know what will happen. I don't even know how to look for her without arousing suspicion."

"Are you 18?"

"Yeah. Last fall."

"I think you need help, Puck. Will you talk to Hiram?"

"Rachel's dad?"

"Yeah. If my dad sets it up, will you go with me to see him? He's a lawyer. If you're 18, maybe you can get custody of your sister and just stay here."

"I guess. He won't rat me out, right? I can't lose Sarah."

"We have to find a way to make this work Puck. If someone finds out, this will be a huge mess. You've been working as a prostitute. I'm not slut shaming you. But if you make the first move and get a job doing something legal before the government gets involved, that would help."

"I got a real gig cleaning the indoor pool at the apartment complex where Shelby was living and I clean the pool at the sorority. No side business anymore. I quit that when I found out that Quinn was pregnant. I can't have my daughter having a prostitute for a dad. I know she's not with me, but still. And by then Sarah was getting old enough to ask what I did inside while she waited sometimes. When I'd have appointments and my ma would skip out and not be home. I couldn't leave a 6 year old here by herself. I'd pull my truck into the driveway and have her lay down in the seat and color. I didn't know what else to do. I quit though, seriously. No more side business at all. Actually, I'm just staying away from women period. I can't be that guy anymore. My ma's been gone and I can't just ditch Sarah. I'm scared all the time. I hide it from Sarah. She thinks Ma went on a trip."

"Can I tell my dad? This is a ticking time bomb, Puck. All it will take is for her to need a doctor and the gig is up. You're not her guardian and you can't sign any paperwork for her."

"I know. I know. I fucking know. I'm trying. I'm doing everything I know how to do."

"Come home with me tonight. Tell my dad, please. Finn's room is empty and Sam is in Kentucky or she can sleep with you."

"Fine. We'll eat the pizza and then go spend the night at your place and talk to your dad."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Sarah! What a beautiful dress and your hair's so fancy!"

"Noah got me the dress for my birthday party today and Kurt fixed my hair and look," she pulled out the photo of herself from her backpack. "Sebastian took pictures of me with his camera and he and Kurt printed them and I look like the girls in the magazines." She handed the photo to Carole.

She looked at it with a matching enthusiasm. "You sure do, sweetheart."

"He put a big one in a frame and you can see my whole dress in that one."

"I bet it's beautiful."

"It is. I put it on my dresser."

"I want to take you out to get you my birthday present. Would that be okay?"

"Can I Noah? Can I go with Aunt Carole out to get my birthday present with her?"

"Sure, Squirt. She already ate. Kurt and Sebastian brought her a birthday pizza."

"That sounds fun."

"It was. It was a HUGE pizza." She demonstrated by making a circle with her arms. "We only ate half of it. We put the rest back for later."

"Good plan," Carole said. "Let's go shopping, okay?"

"I'm ready," she said enthusiastically.

"Give me just a minute. I have to grab my bag first."

"Alright. I'll wait right here." She walked around the room looking at everything.

Kurt followed Carole out of the living room. "See if you can find some of those really nice sandals with the toe caps that she can wear with socks now and then wear all summer and not need anything else. Here, like these." Kurt opened his phone and showed Carole a picture.

"Got it. Send me that photo and I'll ask where I can buy them. Those look perfect."

"She thinks her mom is on a trip. Don't say anything different for now."

"I won't. You realize, they're going to end up living here too, right?"

"I know. I just had to present it to Puck in a way to get him here to talk to Dad. He's not going to relinquish raising her though. If they move in, he's still in charge of her because that's all she's ever known. She already calls you Aunt Carole."

"She always has. She's known me since she was a baby, so it will be an easier transition than living with someone else."

"That's true."

"I have to go. She's waiting on me. We'll be back. Go talk to Burt."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The four of them sat down in the living room. Kurt and Sebastian sat in the oversized chair together again. Kurt took Sebastian's hand and intertwined their fingers. Puck sat down in the chair across from Burt.

"Alright, Puck. Be straight with me," Burt said.

"Ma disappeared in January. I haven't heard from her at all. I have no idea where she is."

"This is where we're going to start because it's the only way I know of getting this solved quickly. You're not going to like it probably, but it's for your sister's safety."

"What?"

"I'm going to go to a judge Monday with Hiram and ask for emergency guardianship of your sister to be granted to me. There is zero reason for my request to be turned down and there are lots of reasons to turn down a similar request from you. You cannot prove that you can financially care for Sarah on your own."

"But I have been."

"That won't matter. You've been living some place rent free in your mother's name. As soon as it's found out that she's not living there, you'll be evicted. Please know that I am not going to take your sister from you. I am doing this to keep your sister WITH you. They will grant me emergency guardianship. A warrant will go out for your mother's arrest for neglect and abandonment. If and when they find her, she can sign custody over to you since you are 18. If they can't find her, we can work from emergency guardianship to full guardianship. Once you learn a trade or get a full-time job, we'll go back to court and have her guardianship turned over to you."

"So, we have to move out of the house."

"Yes. You and Sam can move into Finn's room and Sarah can have the guest room or you and Sarah can have Finn's room and Sam can stay in the guest room. All three rooms are the same size. Kurt and Sebastian's room just has its own bathroom. You all can work it out however you want. I'll get a moving truck over to your place tomorrow. You, Kurt, and Sebastian can load up the furniture when we get back. We have room in the basement to store some stuff as well."

"We don't have much. You won't need a big truck. I will need to get some boxes tonight though. I'll pack up Ma's stuff and store it in case they find her and she wants it. What will I do with our furniture?"

"I'll pay for a small storage unit for a month until we figure the rest of the details out. So, tomorrow we'll load up everything from the house."

"Okay. But I won't just mooch. I'll give you what I've been spending on our bills to help cover our costs for staying here."

"We'll talk about details later. I want to keep Sarah from ending up in foster care."

"That's why I'm agreeing to this."

"I know, Puck. I know. You and I will have some talks. You've changed though. You're not that jackass that tormented Kurt anymore. You've grown up. That's all anyone can ask. You can't undo the idiotic things you did. You can just stop doing them."

"I'm trying."

"Sarah can spend the night here with Carole in Finn's room tonight. You'll go home and spend the rest of the evening and tomorrow packing your stuff. I wish we could help with that, but we're going to Cincinnati tomorrow morning for business and we won't be back until probably 6:00. I'll drive the U-Haul to your house in the morning before we leave. When we get back into town, we'll help you load the furniture. I'm sorry to make you do so much of it on your own, but at least Sarah will be out of the way."

"I can do it. I'm going to go ahead and take off. I've gotta find some boxes somewhere."

"There's bunch down in our basement in the storage room from when we moved here. You'll just need the box tape for them, which is in the garage."

"Cool. I'll go find them and put them in my truck."

"You're driving uninsured, aren't you?"

Puck nodded. "I can't pay everything. It's winter and I've only got the two pool-cleaning gigs right now and I've been having to watch Sarah almost all of the time. Ma was no help, but she was an adult body in the house. I can't just leave Sarah in the house alone and go out and do odd jobs like I used to when Ma was around."

"I get it, but I'm adding your truck to my insurance ASAP. You can pay for that with the money you were paying your electricity with."

"Sure. Look. I know I was awful to Kurt. It was never because he was gay. You can ask him. I never call him any of those names. He was just so untouchable. He had fancy clothes and he acted like he was better than everyone else. He lived in a nice house and had nice stuff. It was a terrible way to treat someone. Jealousy and jackassery are not a good combination. If I had taken the time to get to know him, I would have realized that he isn't a stuck-up snob. He's just not. I felt like he was looking down on me and the dumpster tosses were payback. I didn't help with the lawn furniture, just so you know. I didn't do anything to stop them though. And for that, I'm sorry."

"I need to ask you one thing. Why were you really in juvie?" Kurt asked.

"I was only in for a few days and I was released with community service hours."

"You were out of school for a few weeks, 3 or 4 if I remember right."

"How about I'll tell you another time? And for tonight, we'll leave it at it's not what you think and I'll go get those boxes and get home and get started."

"No." Burt said. "Before I do this, I need to know what you did. Plus, you need to wait here to tell Sarah what's happening."

"You're right. It will be better if I tell her. Juvie. This isn't the first time my ma has run off. It's just the longest she's stayed gone. A year ago in October she ran off. I was 16. Sarah was just 6. Ma had been gone for a few days and Sarah got sick. I stayed home with her the first day and then I realized I was going to have to stay home every day until she got well. I called the school and told them the stupid story about being in juvie using a fake voice. I knew that would keep the school from coming to look for me for truancy. So, she was really sick, like with the flu. She had a fever for days and she was coughing and it was awful. She finally got well, but in the meantime, I caught it too. Once she was well enough to go to school, I got her up and sent her on the bus. But I was too sick to go to school. I just gave myself the same stuff I had given her and I eventually got better. But took like two weeks. Seriously, it's like the sickest I have ever been. When I was about day from being well enough to go back to school, Ma showed back up. She'd been gone for over three weeks. Not a word of explanation. I was angry. Really angry. I went out to buy more medicine and I couldn't get any because I wasn't 18. I got mad and kicked a display over at the pharmacy and they called the cops. And they hauled me off to juvie. I was only there a few days and I was released to do the community service since I hadn't actually damaged anything except the cardboard display itself and not anything on the display."

"So, you were out a few days later and went back to school and just never told anyone what had really happened."

"Exactly. Stealing an ATM is a felony and there's no chance I would have only gone to juvie for a few weeks."

"Which is why I asked because the story that Schue told us made no sense."

"Yet, the school bought it. What does that say about Figgins and Schue?"

"I take it you're not a big fan of Schuester?"

"He's an alright dude, I suppose."

"Kurt says that he plays favorites."

"Definitely. Berry and Finn are his favorites. Gelmet moved to the top of the ranks quickly."

"Gelmet?"

"Oh, sorry. Blaine. That was one of Santana's nicknames for him."

"I see. Well, he's gone now."

"Not a day too soon. He wasn't good enough for Kurt. He was like the male version of Berry. Always pushing Kurt into the background. And never acting like they were a couple. It was just weird. Why change schools to be with someone if you're going to come and then barely sit by him in Glee or lunch? I didn't get it. He hung out with us and never brought Kurt with him. That was the other reason why we all believed Finn. I mean as soon as Blaine came to McKinley, he started coming to the Glee guys' stuff and he didn't bring Kurt with him. It backed up what Finn had said about Kurt not wanting to come."

"Yeah, that was really wrong. A lot of things have been really wrong. You'll learn things living here that will need to stay here. I'll expect you to keep Kurt's personal life private. Whatever you see go on in this house, isn't for public knowledge. You know that he and Sebastian are dating, but no one knows that they share a room. That's our personal family business. But you've been here and you haven't said anything so I figure you already figured out to keep your mouth shut about it. But there may be other things. If you're not sure whether it's okay to say something to other people, just ask. Remember that you're moving in with a congressman. People would like to get dirt on me to make it so that I don't get re-elected. And some of those people have no morals whatsoever. Keep in mind that one of my opponents outed a teenager on a TV commercial. There's nothing nefarious or illegal going on in this house, but political opponents are not always truthful and they twist the truth for their own purposes."

"I got it."

Kurt spoke up. "Think of JBI but with adult abilities to get the news spread through the media."

"Ugh," Puck sighed. "He's such a pain in the ass."

"Well, just keep in mind that people are always looking for dirt on politicians," Kurt said.

"Under no circumstances can you go back to being a pool boy. No cigarettes, no alcohol, no drugs. No girls overnight unless they're 18 AND we meet them. I won't have some woman trying to get dirt on my family by trying to sleep with you to get into my house. If you want to sleep with women, you're an adult and I won't stop you, but not here in the house with your little sister here unless one of us is willing to watch her and keep her away from your room."

"Got it."

"I'm not trying to come down hard on you, Puck. Life in the public eye as a politician is a lot different from life as a regular citizen and you've been sneaking around under the radar for years. That has to stop. Immediately. I know you're used to hosting football team parties and stuff at your place. That can't happen here. I can't have parties with underage drinking going on in my house."

"If you help me keep Sarah, I swear I will stop drinking. And I haven't hosted any football team parties since my nana Ruth moved into a retirement home. I would never let those losers be around Sarah, especially when they had been drinking. I've never smoked. It's expensive and awful for singing. I will look like I'm applying for sainthood. I'll even go to math class every day. I just can't lose her."

"I know, Puck. Why do you think I'm going to court Monday? Carole will help care for Sarah. We'll get a sitter if we need to until school gets out since you won't be living next door to the lady that was willing to watch her for you some of the time. Once school gets out, she'll have to go to one of those all-day camps the elementary schools run. Kurt and Sebastian will be working a lot and I don't know if Sam will even be here. You're going to have to work or go to school."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

"Alright then. They should be back pretty soon. Why don't you go put a few of those boxes together and start packing up what's on the bookshelves in Finn's room so you have somewhere to put your stuff. He took all of his clothes to Rachel's – I think. I know Kurt has schoolwork to do still. Maybe Sebastian has time to help."

"Sure. Let's go get the boxes," Sebastian said. He turned and kissed Kurt before leading Puck down to the storage area to get the boxes.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They carried the boxes up the stairs and started taping them together.

"Let's be organized about this. I'm don't know Finn well and I'm not sure how upset he's going to be that we messed with his stuff. So, how about I'll do the shelves and you do the more personal stuff like the dresser in case there's stuff he wouldn't want me to know about in there."

"Sure. I've known Finn since we were in preschool. If he's hiding something in there I've never seen, I'd be very surprised." Puck opened the drawers. "The dresser is empty. I'll check the closet." He opened the door. "Just some leftover stuff. I'll box it up."

"I need some newspaper or something for these trophies. I'll go down and find some." He came back up a few minutes later.

"I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm not that guy that used to toss Kurt into the dumpsters anymore."

"I know. He told me." Sebastian wrapped all of Finn's trophies carefully and put them into the boxes. "He said that you've changed. I trust him."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Yes. He's the first person I've ever loved. He means everything to me."

"That's how I feel about my sister, not the romantic part obviously. But she means everything to me."

"Clearly, you've done a really good job raising her. She's really sweet and happy. You've given her what no one gave you or me."

"What's that?"

"A childhood full of love."

Puck nodded. "And tonight I have to break her heart and tell her that her mother is gone." Puck started to cry. "She tried so hard to be a good girl for Ma. She did her homework, she kept her room clean, she did chores. She did everything as perfect as she could. She wanted Ma to love her so badly. It was never enough. My ma blamed her for my dad leaving. He didn't want the hassle and expense of raising another kid. When she got drunk, she'd say things to Sarah. I told Sarah that alcohol poisons people's brains and makes them say crazy things, which is true, but my ma meant every word of it." Puck started helping with the shelves. He didn't say anything else for a while and a half hour later everything was boxed up. "Let's carry these down to the storage room like Burt said."

They came back up and looked around.

Sebastian said, "Let's go put the sheets and the towels in the washer. I don't know if Finn washed the stuff before he left."

Puck went and grabbed everything from the bathroom and Sebastian took the sheets off the bed.

"I'll show you how the washer and dryer work. Come on."

They came back up and Sebastian turned toward Kurt's room. "Come on. You two need to talk." Sebastian opened the door and Puck followed him in. Sebastian sat in the desk chair and pointed to the chair by the bookcase for Puck to sit down.

"Hey, Puck. Did you guys get everything out of Finn's room?"

"Yeah, there wasn't much left. Just some trophies and stuff on his shelves and a few things in his closet."

"So, when Carole and Sarah get back, we're going to need to explain to her what being gay means if she doesn't already know," Kurt said.

"I'm not sure whether she knows or not, but I'll tell her or we can tell her together – the three of us and Carole."

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Kurt, I think you should tell him what you told me this morning."

"Yeah." Kurt moved the vanity chair closer to where the other two were sitting. "I want to finish what I started saying on your stoop. You've done an amazing job with Sarah. She's sweet, polite, articulate, and just all around a really great kid. That's all you. That's Noah. All that time you were living a double life in a way. Noah at home and Puck in public. Noah is this total teddy bear who cares about his sister so much. And Puck was a jackass who thought the school fag thought too highly of himself. Seriously? Everyone hated me. How on earth could I have been stuck up? I wore a mask just like you. You pretended to be a bully who didn't care about anything but his rep and where he could stick his dick. I pretended not to care about what anyone thought about me and like I was made of Teflon and nothing anyone said or did to me would stick."

"Ice King."

"Yeah."

"Stop calling yourself a fag."

"Anyway, I've already forgiven you, but I don't know if you know that, or if I ever told you. You quit bullying me and you eventually came around and stopped being a bully."

"And you've stopped coming across as a stuck-up snob, not that being a snob is on the same level as bully. I just meant that you've changed too. You're more relaxed. You're happier."

"That's true. Making a few friends who don't treat me like a diseased leper helped. And getting rid of some baggage helped as well. Mental baggage. I won't go into detail. But it's a combination of things. Sebastian's been a big part of it."

"I was serious about what I said at my place this morning. I'm not going to be weirded out about the two of you being together. I actually prefer it over the way gelmet acted around you. I think the most shocking thing is Burt's big turnaround. He used to treat you as much like a girl as the rest of us did. And now, he's letting your boyfriend live here, and not just here in the house, but here in your room, sleeping in your bed with you."

"I was surprised as you are. He said that Carole knocked some sense into him about the way he was acting. And I confronted him last fall. And told him that he was being unfair and that his ingrained Lima homophobia was showing."

"You're the only person I know who would stand up to him. He scares the crap out of everybody."

"Nah, I think he scares the crap out of people with guilty consciences. He has a way of looking at you that gets you to spill your guts."

"That may be it. I'll tell you after I manage to stay on the straight and narrow for a few weeks," he laughed.

Kurt's phone pinged. "They're back. Let's get down there. It's time to tell her what's going on."

"Ugh."

"We'll all do it together, so she sees that she's not alone. Let my dad help. This isn't the first time he's been with an 8 year old who's being told that their mother is gone."

"Your mom?"

"Yep. Let's go."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Noah! Noah! Look!" she stuck her foot and showed him her new magenta strappy sandals. "Aren't they awesome?"

"They are."

"They're my birthday present and they go with my dress and I'm going to get new clothes you said already because I got too big for my old clothes. So, I'm going to get some more clothes this color and pink because I like magenta and pink."

"I know you do, Squirt." Puck sat down on the chair facing Carole and Burt and pulled Sarah up onto his lap. Kurt and Sebastian sat in the oversized chair together again.

"This is a different house than Finn and Aunt Carole lived in before, but some of their stuff is here."

"It is. That's what I want to talk to you about."

"Okay."

"Did Carole tell you about getting married?"

"Nope."

Carole spoke up. "Well Burt and I got married. Kurt is Burt's son."

"Oh. So, now Kurt and Finn are brothers, right?"

"You got it."

"Now, Squirt. I've got a question for you. Do you know what it means when someone is gay?"

"Nope."

"Well, you know that Carole used to not be married."

"Umm hmm. Cause Finn's dad died when he was a baby and she didn't have a husband anymore."

"Right. Well, Kurt's mom died when he was young too. So, Burt didn't have a wife anymore."

"That's sad, Kurt."

"Thank you, Sarah," Kurt said.

"So, Burt and Carole met and they liked each other. And eventually they loved each other and got married. So, that's how it works sometimes. But sometimes, two girls like each other and then love each other. And sometimes two boys like each other and then love each other. And when it's two boys, the boys are gay. It means when a boy likes other boys."

"Okay. So, Kurt and Sebastian are gay and they are boyfriends?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Is that all you wanted to explain? That Kurt and Sebastian like boys and they like each other?"

"That's not everything. There's something else."

"Okay. Cause I figured that part out this morning, but I didn't know there was a special name for it."

"You knew?"

"Sure. They look at each other like they love each other and they're wearing matching rings like wedding rings, but they're too young to be married, but I wasn't sure because you said Finn got married."

"You're a very smart girl, Sarah," Kurt said.

She had a huge proud smile on her face. She looked right at Noah. "What else did you want to tell me?"

"Well, you know how Ma's been gone for a long time?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't know where she's gone. She didn't say where she was going when she left. And since she hasn't come back, we need to find some new grown ups to live with. So, we are going to move in here and live with Carole and Burt, and Kurt and Sebastian. And do you remember Sam?"

"Yep."

"He lives here too."

"Where's Finn?"

"He and Rachel got married like you said and they live at Rachel's now."

"Alright. So, will Finn come to temple with Rachel now?"

"I didn't ask him, so I'm not sure."

"Okay. We missed going to temple tonight with Nana."

"I know. We'll go soon. I needed to work on some other things this evening. So, tonight, you're going to stay here with Carole and I'm going to go home and pack all of our stuff. Tomorrow you'll stay here and Kurt and Sebastian are going to help me put our stuff in a big truck and bring it over here."

"And we're going to stay here until Ma comes back?"

"We're going to stay here. People will start looking for Ma, but I don't know if they'll find her. Some grown ups don't behave the way they should."

"I know. You tell me that everybody gets older, but not everybody gets wiser."

"That's true. Some people do the same dumb things their whole lives – like smoke cigarettes or get drunk or do drugs. And getting drunk and doing drugs does what?"

"It makes people say and do crazy stuff."

"Exactly. Which is why…"

"Why I should say no when people offer me cigarettes or alcohol or drugs."

"Because?"

"Because I want to grow up to be smart, not stupid."

"Exactly."

"So, are you going to bring all of my stuff here?"

"Well, tomorrow, we are going to put most of our furniture together in a storage unit and I'm going to bring all of our stuff here. We have to figure out what furniture we need if we're living here."

"Okay. Can I see the rest of the house? Will I still go to my school?"

"Yes, one of us will drive you there and I'll pick you up after school. We're going to have to be flexible at first. Do you know what that means?"

"Not really."

"We have to know that some things aren't going to work the way we want them to at first and we'll just have to do them differently until we get everything figured out."

"Okay. So be flexible means don't get upset when I can't find my stuff or when something goes wrong."

"Mostly, yes that's what it means. It means all of are going to do our best to make things work, but it might take us a few tries to get it right."

"Like math problems. Sometimes you do all that work and still get the wrong answer."

"Exactly like that. Even though you tried to do it right, you just have to start over and try it again."

"Okay. Now, can I see the rest of the house?"

"Sure, Squirt. I'll let Kurt and Sebastian show you. I'm going to go home and start packing our stuff up."

"So, if this is our new house and our new family. Are Kurt and Sebastian and Sam my new brothers?"

"More like cousins."

"So will Burt will be my uncle now?"

Noah raised his eyebrows looking at them, not knowing what to answer.

"Sure, Sarah," Carole answered. "You can call him Uncle Burt."

She turned and gave Puck a big hug. "Thank you for finding us a new family."

"You're welcome. I love you, Squirt. Let me up so I can go start packing."

She hopped down and went and stood in front of Kurt and Sebastian. "Will you show me around?"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

She grabbed Kurt's hand and walked toward the stairs. "This house is big and tricky."

They walked into the hall at the back of the living room. "This door leads to the garage. Don't play in there without asking someone to go with you."

"Okay."

Kurt opened the door and turned on the light to show her. "It's not scary or anything. It's just that sometimes people park their cars in here and it's better to have one of us with you since you're small."

"I won't go in there by myself until I'm tall like you."

"This door leads to Burt's and Carole's office." Sebastian opened it and showed her. "Only the two of them use that room."

"Okay."

"This next room is Burt and Carole's bedroom. We don't go in there either, but if you need something, just knock and they'll open the door right away."

"Alright."

"That's a storage closet. The stairs go up to the bedrooms. We'll go up there later. This way is a half bath, which means it's a bathroom with no bathtub. This door leads downstairs to the family room. We'll go down there in a minute."

"This is HUMONGOUS kitchen. I like it. It's like the ones on TV."

"You're right," Kurt said. "It's huge. But there are 7 people living here now. That's the laundry room and pantry. We keep extra food in there. Sometime I'll show you how to use the washer and the dryer."

"Okay."

Sebastian went in the laundry room, moved the stuff from the washer to the dryer, and then rejoined the tour.

"Over there is the dining room."

"There's a separate room for just the table?"

"It's a big table so lots of people can eat together. Follow me."

"You're right. It's a HUGE table." She counted the chairs. "There are 10 chairs and room for more if you squish a little."

Kurt and Sebastian laughed.

She walked to the end of the room. "We're back to the front," she said as they walked into the entryway. "I told you this is a tricky house."

Kurt said, "Go back to the door that I said led downstairs. Let's see if you remember."

She turned around and went back through the dining room and through the kitchen and stopped in front of the door that led downstairs.

"You are very smart and exactly right. Let's go down the stairs."

"It's dark."

"Oh, the light's right there." He took her hand and put it on the light switch.

She flipped it. "Now I can see." She went down carefully. "Wow, it's huge. And there's a huge TV."

"Noah spends a lot of time in this room when he visits. It has the video games and the DVD player. Over there is a storage room. It has a big freezer. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes."

Kurt opened the storage room door and turned the light on. "So, if Carole ever says that the food you want is in the big freezer downstairs, this is what she's talking about." Kurt opened it up and showed her.

"It's like the grocery store."

"Sort of, yes. We go shopping and buy lots of food all at once at a place that sells big amounts of food, so we don't have to go as often. And plus, when Finn lived with us, he ate a lot of food."

She laughed. "I've seen him eat a whole pizza."

"Me too." Kurt laughed.

"The downstairs isn't as big as the upstairs."

"You're right. It's not. There's one more tiny room under the stairs. It's another half bath. This room is fine for you to be in and you can watch movies according to whatever rules Noah already has for you."

"I have to do my homework first."

"That's a good plan," Kurt said.

"So now the upstairs?"

"Yes. Let's see you lead the way."

She took off up the stairs. Sebastian pulled Kurt close and kissed him quickly. They followed her up. She was waiting at the bottom of the stairway. And she ran up once she saw them. They followed her upstairs.

"So, that way is our room. We'll show you it first."

She turned and walked toward their room. Kurt opened the door. "We have one rule about our bedrooms."

"What's the rule?"

"Well, I guess there are two. The first one is to knock and wait for an answer. And the second is not to go in someone's room if the person isn't home."

"That seems fair."

"So, this is our room. This room has it's own bathroom. It's in a little room behind where the bed is."

"You have your own TV?"

"It's pretty new. Finn used to have people over a lot and we never got to watch the TV downstairs so Burt bought us this one," Sebastian said.

"Burt must be very nice."

"He is very nice," Kurt agreed. "But do you want to know something?"

"What?"

"He does not like for people to lie to him. If you accidentally do something, you will not be in trouble. We know things are all new here. It's a lot to learn so fast. But we have to tell the truth here. It's one of the big rules of the house. Okay?"

"Okay. So, you and Sebastian share the big bed?"

"We do."

"Okay. Where am I going to sleep?"

"Well, I'm not sure that's been decided yet, but we'll show you the other two rooms. Sam isn't here, so we can't go in, but I will let you look." Kurt opened Sam's door and turned the light on.

She looked inside. "That's a nice room. Does it have a bathroom too?"

"It does. It's connected to the other bedroom. So, the two bedrooms on this side of the hall share a bathroom."

"So that's the last room. Can I go in?"

"Yes." They followed her. "This used to be Finn's room. When Sam comes back tomorrow, it will be decided how the three of you will share these two rooms. Either you and Noah will share this room and Sam will keep the other room by himself or Noah and Sam will share this room and you'll have the other room by yourself."

"Okay. This room is really big. Me and Noah could share it. Sam might not want to share with Noah. He snores sometimes."

Kurt laughed. "Be sure to tell Sam that tomorrow."

"Okay. Sam is really nice and he plays with me when he comes over. He says his sister Stacey is the same age as me. She looks like him though with blond hair. He showed me a picture. He has a little brother too, named Stevie."

"They came here for Thanksgiving. Stacey likes to dress up, just like you. I fix her hair too."

"Maybe she'll come visit Sam again sometime and she can be my new friend and we can play Barbies. I only have one though, so she'll have to bring her own."

"She has just one as well. She brought her the last time she came and we made new dresses for her."

"You can make Barbie dresses?"

"He can make all kinds of clothes," Sebastian said. "He's very good at it."

"Noah told me that he used to be mean to you, but he told you he was sorry. And he's not ever going to be mean to you or anyone again."

"He did tell me he was sorry. And he hasn't done anything mean to me in a long time."

She climbed up on the bed. "I like this big bed. Am I going to sleep in here tonight?"

"Yes, but we need to remake the bed. And the sheets are in the dryer getting wrinkled," Sebastian said. "I think you're going to have wrinkly sheets," he teased.

She laughed. "That's okay. I'm not like the girl in the _Princess and the Pea_. The wrinkles won't keep me awake. I know how to make a bed. Want me to show you?"

"Sure," Sebastian answered.

"Let me go get the sheets." Kurt went down and brought the sheets and the towels back up. He tossed the sheets on the bed and the towels on the dresser.

"Sebastian said I can call him Bas if I want to since Sebastian is a very long name. But I think Sebastian is a cool name, so I have to think about it." She grabbed the fitted sheet and started to put it on.

"Should we do it together or do you want to do it by yourself?" Kurt asked.

"Together. But Sebastian can fold those towels instead since we only need two people to do this."

"Good plan, Sarah." Sebastian laughed and started folding the towels that Kurt had put on the dresser. He put them in the bathroom after he finished.

Sarah demonstrated her bed-making prowess to Kurt. "Once the sheet and the blanket are under there, you pull this part up and tuck that part in, and then it looks all nice and neat like in the pictures in the book I read. Then we spread the top cover over everything and get it to lay smooth, like this."

"Perfect," Kurt said. "Why don't your run downstairs and bring your backpack back up and tell Carole we're ready for her to come up here."

"Okay." She bounded out of the room and down the stairs.

"She's a little bundle of happiness. She didn't seem fazed by Puck telling her that their mother might not come back."

"You heard him. This isn't the first time she's run off. Sarah probably just thinks she'll come back at some point. She's really young to understand 'never'. It took me a while to quit feeling like my mom was going to come home. She had been in and out of the hospital, so the last time it still felt like she might come back, even though there was a funeral. Some days it felt like the funeral was just a nightmare and that I had imagined it. Anyway, I just want them to not get separated."

Sebastian pulled Kurt into his arms and held him close. "You have the biggest heart."

Sarah came bounding back in the room. "Noah gives good hugs. I like hugs a lot. Aunt Carole said she'd come up in a few minutes and that I should put my pajamas on. But I can't unzip the dress." She turned her back to Kurt. "Can you untie it and unzip it? I'll go in the bathroom and take it off and take a bath and put my pajamas on. Will it hurt the braids to get them wet?"

"No, just don't try to wash your hair with them in."

"I washed it last night. It's not time to wash it again. The curls get all frizzy if I wash it too much. Noah usually fastens it up though to keep it from getting wet."

"Give me a minute and I'll be right back and fasten it up. Leave your dress on until I come back."

Kurt went in their room and brought back a bandana. He wrapped her hair around it and rolled it up and then tied it on top of her head. "There."

"That's different than Noah does it, but faster. You should show him that way."

"Alright. I'll do that. If you go in the bathroom and take the dress off and hand it out the door, I will hang it in the closet."

She went in and handed the dress out.

"Make sure you get the water the right temperature before you fill the tub up."

"I know." She cracked the door open a little. "This tub only has one knob. What do I do?"

"Do you see the arrow?" Kurt stood next to the door.

"Yes."

"Do you know your right from your left?"

"Yes."

"Okay. The more the arrow faces right, the colder the water will be. The more you turn it to the left, the hotter it will get. So, just turn it to the left until you get the temperature you like. Don't forget your washcloth in the basket on the sink."

"I see them."

"There's no soap."

"It's liquid soap. It says 'body wash' in a bottle like shampoo."

"Oh. I never saw liquid bath soap before. How much do I need?"

"The same amount as shampoo."

"Okay."

Kurt walked over to where Sebastian was standing and wrapped his arms around him. "This is how we know for sure that prejudice is taught. She had no problem with us. Her cute little Sherlock routine got me. 'I figured that out this morning, Noah'." Kurt laughed.

"She's something."

They could hear her singing.

"She has a nice voice," Kurt said.

"She does."

Carole came in the room. "Alright, you two, I'll relieve you of your post. She's a sweet girl and she likes you two, so that will make this easier."

"She already knows and likes Sam too."

"Oh, good."

"You two can head off to bed. I know you're leaving early in the morning to head to Cincinnati."

"Wait. You're not coming?"

"Do you want me to come and bring Sarah? It would be a really long day for an 8 year old."

"I thought we were taking her shopping."

"Well we'll ask her." Carole stepped up to the bathroom door. "Sarah, sweetheart, are you done?"

"I'm putting my pajamas on. I don't have any toothpaste and I can't reach it in the cabinet."

"Can I open the door?"

Sarah opened it. Carole reached in and grabbed the toothpaste for her.

"I'll get you a step stool or we'll move the toothpaste down lower in the cabinet."

"Okay." She finished and came out.

"We have a question for you."

"What, Aunt Carole?"

"Tomorrow, Sebastian, Kurt, Burt, and I were going to go to Cincinnati to look at places for them to move to when they go to college next school year. I need to know whether you want to go with all of us or whether you'd like me to stay here with you?"

"What will we do besides look at houses or whatever?"

"Well, we can go shopping for some new spring and summer clothes and we'll go out to eat a restaurant."

"That sounds fun."

"It's a 2-hour drive. So, you'll have to ride in Kurt's Navigator for two hours each way."

"Can I read or sing?"

"Sure."

"Okay. I've never been anywhere besides here. Cincinnati might be fun. I want to go too."

"Alright then. We need to go to sleep right away because we have to get up early to go. You can wear your birthday dress again if you want."

"I'll think about it. Can we get some other dresses, maybe less fancy, but still pretty?"

"I'm sure we can find some."

Sarah climbed into the bed and lay down. Carole covered her up and got in the other side of the bed.

Kurt turned the light off. "Good night, Sarah."

"Good night, Kurt and Sebastian."


	23. Chapter 23

Everyone was pleased to find that Sarah was a good traveler and didn't complain at all during the 2+hour drive. They dropped Kurt off at the church. Trevor was waiting in his car when Kurt got out of the Navigator and got out when he saw him.

"Your friend going to Kentucky again?"

"Oh, no. That was Sam. My dad got him and Sebastian a car to share. Sebastian gets it during the week and Sam gets it on the weekends, well starting Friday afternoon, so he can go see his family anytime he wants now."

"That was nice of your dad." He unlocked the door and they went inside.

"He's a great guy. We have two new residents now. Our friend Puck, also known as Noah, and his little sister. My dad is requesting emergency guardianship of Sarah tomorrow."

"So, you have your stepbrother, whose name I've forgotten, you, Sam, Sebastian, Puck, and Sarah?"

"Finn. And Finn and Rachel got married and he moved in with her until the end of the school year. So, four teen boys and one 8 year old girl."

"Wow. So, anyway, it's been like 6 weeks since you've been here."

"I know. I don't have anything prepared. But I have still been working on the exercises in that book."

"How did your cheer squad do?"

"Oh, we won Regionals, so we'll be heading to Nationals in about three weeks. Glee Club Regionals was a tie between us and the school I went to for most of last year. I can show you my solo, if you want to see. I was able to pull it off because of working with you. I didn't have the confidence to do it before."

"I'd like to see it."

Kurt pulled it up on his phone and let Trevor watch.

"Wow. That is a huge difference from when you came here last fall. That was four months ago. You were so timid to sing in your low range. You concentrated almost solely on your upper range, but that has improved as well. Now, you're able to sing in your upper register without it sounding thin. I like your version of this better than the original because Josh Groban's voice breaks in those higher sections of the song. I like it that you can maintain the strength that you have in your lower register now as you move up and sing the higher notes. I like that smooth transition."

"Thanks. I really appreciate all the help you've given me this year. Just working through all of those exercises and everything. It's really helped."

"I'm glad you can hear that it's helped and that you feel more confident. Will you be singing lead at Nationals?"

"No. Puck is. He has been in the group as long as I have and due to some prejudices against him from the director, he's also not been featured much. So, I stood up and said that he should do it. I got my chance."

"So, your director is finally over believing he only had one lead couple?"

"That or he finally just got tired of me be bossy and just gave in."

Trevor laughed. "Come around here. I brought music for us to sight sing today since it's been so long."

The two of them finished out the hour working on continuing to improve Kurt's sight singing skills.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt arrived right as Trevor was leaving. "Long time, no see."

"I know. It's been crazy. Regionals for Cheerios, Regionals for Glee, my spring break, your spring break."

"How did you break your wrist?"

Kurt told him the truth.

Matt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I have nothing nice to say. So, according to my mom, I should just keep quiet."

"I disagree. Keeping quiet when someone is wearing a hideous outfit is different from keeping quiet when people are assaulting other people. Keeping quiet instead of being rude is polite. Keeping quiet when someone is being beaten is just wrong."

Matt nodded. "You're right, you're right. How much longer until the cast comes off?"

"Next week. We'll see then if I'm released to go back to cheering."

"New topic. College."

"We got our waivers. After I leave today, we're going to look at places to live."

"So, it's settled, you're not going to consider other places?"

"I turned in my acceptance letter ages ago."

"But you said you were still going to audition for NYADA."

"I am, but just as an exercise and for the experience. I'll be here next fall."

"That's exciting. I'm going to have to think of something I can cast you in."

"Now, that's nepotism, isn't it?"

"Not if you're the best person for the role."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "What did you bring for us to do today?"

"Back to cold readings. They're always tough. You get very little time to prepare and oftentimes get only a bare-bones description of the character." Matt pulled out a couple of sheets of paper and handed them to Kurt. "I'll give you five minutes to prepare for each one. Just start with the first one."

They went through four different readings and Matt gave him tips on each one and he presented it again following the pointers. Right before time was up, Kurt showed Matt their video from Regionals. He watched and then commented while he was packing up.

"Wow, your low range sounds fantastic. Trevor's done a good job with you and you've work hard at building your sound and your confidence."

"Thanks."

They headed downstairs. Kurt waved as Matt drove off.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they dropped Kurt off, Burt, Carole, Sarah, and Sebastian headed off to the nearest Goodwill to have a look at the girls' clothes. Sarah had made the prudent choice to wear leggings and a t-shirt that she had packed since it would be easier to try clothes on if she could get her clothes off by herself.

Sebastian helped Carole look through the racks. Burt took up residence in one of the armchairs in the furniture section and looked through a car magazine.

"We've found five dresses. Let's go try those while Sebastian finds all of the pink shirts in your size. You can look through them after you try on the dresses," Carole told her as they went to the dressing room.

She tried them on and Carole kept three of them. They came out and she looked through the shirts and took the ones she liked back to the dressing room. Carole kept three of them. "Let's find some other color shirts that you like. I think you'll get tired of wearing pink every day."

She looked through and found some others she liked. And they looked through the skirts, shorts, and pants, not finding much. But she did try a few things.

"I don't really like jeans every much, unless they have pretty things on them like flowers sewn on and stuff. All of these jeans look like they're for boys."

"I understand, sweetheart, but sometimes we'll do things like go hiking or do things outside that are better done in jeans than dresses or skirts. Try these on and I promise that Kurt can make them look as girly as you want them to."

"Okay." She tried a few pairs on and found one that fit.

"Perfect. Let's go pay for everything. We need to go pick Kurt up soon."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

As soon as Kurt got in, Sarah started talking. "We found three dresses, five shirts, two pairs of shorts, two skirts, and a pair of jeans."

"Wow. That's a lot of stuff."

"I know and it was only like $20. Noah will be really happy that it wasn't really expensive."

"You're right. He will."

"He told me he saved up $30 to buy me new clothes, so we didn't spend too much. He told me when it got warmer, he could get more jobs and we could get more later. But now I have enough for a whole week. Carole said so. She said that you could make some of my long leggings that are too short into summer leggings for the dresses."

"That's true."

"And since we didn't spend all of it, we can still get a couple more things somewhere else. Aunt Carole said I needed one pair of jeans to do outside stuff in, but the pair that fit is really plain and boring, but she said that you can make them look pretty for me."

"That's true. You can even help me fix them up."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Sam can help too. He's really good at painting. Have you ever been camping?"

"No. Is it fun?"

"I think so. Sebastian and I are trying to arrange to go camping at Sam's house in Kentucky."

"Can I go and play with Stevie and Stacey?"

"We're working on it. We haven't figure out a time to go yet."

"Okay. Are we going to eat soon? I'm hungry."

"Yes, sweetheart," Carole answered.

Burt drove while Sebastian directed him to a Mexican place he had found online that wasn't far away.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian carried Sarah and her eyes lit up when they went inside. She leaned in and spoke very quietly. "It's really cool in here. I like the bright colors."

"It is cool in here."

"I've never been to a place like this."

"This is only my second time," Sebastian confided.

She smiled. "I've only had tacos at home with Noah. I don't know if I'll like them here."

"I bet you will. You can get them with beef or chicken. Do you like rice?"

"Yes."

"Then you can order tacos and rice."

"Okay."

They were seated quickly. Everyone looked through their menus and made up their minds. Sarah insisted on sitting between Kurt and Sebastian.

"Do you want a booster seat, Sarah?" Kurt asked her.

"I don't know."

"It's just a little chair to sit on so you can reach the table easier without having to sit on your knees, kind of like your booster car seat."

"Okay. I'd like one."

Kurt asked for one and helped her into it.

"Much better," she said.

Sebastian showed her the kids' menu section. She read her choices.

"I don't know some of these words," she said quietly.

Sebastian answered her. "That's because some of them are in Spanish. That's the language they speak in Mexico."

"Oh. Okay. What does this one mean? Q-U-E-S-O?"

Kurt answered, "Oh, that's pronounced 'kay-so'. It's this creamy white cheese," showing her the queso in the photo.

"I like cheese."

"You'll like it then."

"Okay. I've picked."

The waiter came back and took each person's order. Sarah sat up tall and placed her own order. "I'd like the 2 tacos with chicken and queso and rice."

"And to drink, señorita?"

"I didn't see the drinks," she said quietly.

Kurt pointed to the kids' choices.

"Milk."

"Gracias."

He finished taking their orders and went to get their drinks.

"Noah doesn't let me drink sodas. The guy called me something I didn't understand."

"Señorita," Kurt answered. "It means 'miss' like we sometimes say 'yes, sir' or 'yes, ma'am'. 'Miss' for a girl, like you. And 'gracias' means 'thank you.'"

"I've never heard anyone speak another language before. It's cool."

"Sebastian's from France. He grew up speaking French."

"Really? Let me hear you speak French."

"_Tu es très gentille et intelligente."_

"What did he say?"

"He said you're really sweet and smart."

She smiled. "How do you say 'thank you' in French?"

Sebastian responded, "_Merci_."

She copied him, "Mare - see."

"Good job. _Très bien_."

"This is fun. So, Kurt speaks French too?"

"He does. He learned from books and videos and at school."

"Do I get to learn to speak another language when I get older?"

"You can start now. Sebastian learned to speak English and French both when he was a baby."

"Wow, that's really cool. What's the best new language to learn?"

Kurt answered, "There's not really just one answer to that. In the United States the two most common languages are English and Spanish. But in Canada… Do you know where Canada is?"

"Up."

Kurt laughed. "North. Up on a map means north. Canada is the country north of the United States and the two most common languages there are English and French."

"Most of the countries south of the United States speak Spanish," Sebastian added. "But in Europe… Do you know where Europe is?"

"Right."

"Right?" Sebastian repeated.

Kurt cut in, "On our maps, Europe is usually shown to the east of the United States. So, yes, from the maps she's used to seeing in school, Europe is on the right side, near the top. So, she does know where Europe is."

"Well, in Europe, there are lots different languages. The countries in Europe are a lot like states. And most of them speak different languages. So, in Spain, they speak Spanish. In Portugal, they speak Portuguese. In France, they speak…"

"French!" she finished.

"Exactly."

"So, are you going back to France?"

"Nope. I'm staying here."

"What about your family?"

"This is my family now. I moved in at Christmastime just like you are moving in this weekend."

"Oh. So, you don't have a mama or papa either?"

"Well, I do technically."

"So, do I, but I mean yours don't care like mine."

"Exactly."

"But now we're family Noah said."

"Yes."

"I'm going to tell my friends that I moved into a new house with my new family when I go to school tomorrow. Aunt Carole, will my friends be able to come over some times?"

"Sure, sweetheart. But I think we'll need a little time to get everything straightened out first."

"Like Noah said to be flexible first?"

"Yes, just like that."

"Okay."

The waiter arrived with their food, carrying all five plates on one arm.

"Wow. That's amazing that he didn't drop them," she said after he walked away.

"It is," Kurt agreed.

Everyone started eating.

"I like these. They're not like Noah's tacos, but they're good." She took a bite of the rice. "I've never had rice with carrots in it, but I like it too."

She was obviously quite hungry because she sat and ate and stopped talking for 10 minutes.

Once they had finished, she asked, "Since I have this cool cup with a lid and a straw, does that mean I get to keep it?"

"Yes, sweetheart. The cup is yours to keep. Do you want some water in it to take with us?"

"Yes, please."

Carole handed the waiter her cup when Burt paid the bill. He came back with the change and cup filled with ice water. Carole gave the cup back to Sarah.

"Why is Uncle Burt putting more money on the table?"

Kurt answered, "Oh, that's called a tip. In restaurants with waiters, like this one, you leave a tip for good service on the table for the waiter."

"Okay. What are we doing next?"

Carole answered her. "Looking at apartments and houses for Kurt and Sebastian. We have an appointment with a person called a realtor who is going to show them to us. His name is Mr. Branton and he will have the keys to let us in so we can see inside to decide which one they like the best."

"Okay."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Mr. Branton was about Kurt's height, in his mid 40s with slightly graying short, brown hair, and a lean build for a man his age. He introduced himself and showed them the first apartment. From there, they visited three others. The last one they liked quite a bit. It was just two blocks from campus and it had a washer and dryer in the unit. On the drive to the first house, they were talking.

"I liked the last one more than any of the others. It had a decent kitchen and that built-desk was nice. The bedroom closet was quite large and the one in the kitchen area was a good size to store my sewing stuff and some supplies in."

"And it had a small coat closet in the living room, which was nice," Carole added.

They pulled up behind the realtor, parked, and got out at the first house.

"I like this already," Kurt said. It was a two-story house with a large deck on the front. It was Kurt's favorite from the listings he had asked to be shown.

Sebastian picked Sarah up and took Kurt's hand. They followed the realtor and Burt and Carole up the steps.

"I like this… What's this called?" She pointed to the deck on the front of the house.

"A deck," Kurt offered.

"I like this deck. You could sit outside and have a picnic, if you put a picnic table up here."

"That's true."

Mr. Branton opened the lock box and then the door. They stepped inside a small foyer, with three large windows that faced the front and a bench and a shelf with hooks across the end wall.

"This is nice. I like that bench and shelf," Kurt said.

"Me too," Sebastian agreed. He put Sarah down.

Mr. Branton opened the door to the house and everyone stepped inside.

"It's as lovely as the photos," Carole said.

"I like the hardwood floors. I could practice dance in here easily."

The five of them split apart a little and looked around.

"I love the high ceilings," Sebastian said. "It makes the rooms seem bigger."

"I could do jumps without hitting my hands on the ceilings," Kurt said as he walked into the kitchen.

"The kitchen's nice," Carole said. "It's not huge, but that built-in cabinet would hold everything you could possibly use."

"That's true," Kurt said. "But I would paint it white so it matched all of the rest of the trim and cabinets."

Sebastian smiled and squeezed Kurt's hand.

Sarah looked out the back door. "It has a fence around the back yard and a concrete… I don't know what that's called either."

Kurt went over and looked out. "It's a patio. We could put a grill and a picnic table back there too."

"Maybe a swing for the deck then," she suggested.

"Good idea," he said and picked her up. "You're such a smart girl."

"What's in there?"

"I don't know." Kurt stepped closer and opened the door next to the stove. "Oh, it leads down to a basement."

Sarah peeked around him and looked down the stairs. "It doesn't look nice like our basement."

He noticed that she had already accepted her new living arrangements. "You're right. It doesn't. Maybe just the washing machine and dryer go down there. There's probably no rooms like our basement has."

"You go look." She slid down out of his arms. "I'll wait up here. Those stairs are creepy."

He smiled. "I think so too. If Bas and I get this house, I'm fixing the stairs."

She laughed. "Go look. I'll wait right here."

He went down the stairs and looked around. The basement was dry, but it wasn't the type people would finish out and turn into rooms, but it seemed solid. He called up the stairs, "Hey, Sarah, get Dad to come down here, okay?"

She called out, "Uncle Burt, Kurt wants you to go down to the basement."

A few minutes later, Burt came down. "Well, it's not much to look at, but it's dry. And it seems okay to me. We'd have a private inspection done to makes sure everything's safe and structurally sound."

"Alright. Let's go back up, 'Uncle Burt'."

"She's something else. She reminds me of you. All talk, all the time. A million questions."

Kurt laughed. "She's cute."

"She is. So were you. Puck's done a good job with her."

"He has. She had obviously never been to a sit-down restaurant, but she behaved very nicely and even ordered for herself after she saw us do it."

When they got to the top of the stairs, Burt went to look for Carole. Sarah was waiting for Kurt next to the fridge. "Is it creepy down there?"

"Well, there's no rats or mice or big spiders or anything. But it's not pretty like it is up here. It's just a concrete floor with concrete walls and a washer and a dryer."

"So, it's not creepy, just ugly?"

Kurt laughed. "Pretty much. Let's go look upstairs."

"You have to wait. Sebastian went out back." She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm glad Noah made new friends. And now we get to be a family."

Kurt walked over to the back door and opened it. He picked Sarah back up and stepped outside. "I'm glad you like being with us."

"It's a decent size," Sebastian said as he came around from the side of the house. "The heating and A/C unit looks new."

"That's good."

"You could plant a big garden like Mr. McGregor."

"We could," Kurt said.

"And the fence would keep the rabbits out."

"That's true," Sebastian said as he reached out for her. "Let me carry her for a while."

She slid into Sebastian's arms and Sebastian took Kurt's hand again. "Let's go back in and look upstairs."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they had finished seeing all of the houses, they stopped at a coffee shop with the realtor.

Carole sat with Sarah at a separate table and pulled out her new coloring book and crayons to keep her busy.

"Well, did you like anything you saw today enough to make an offer or put a deposit on?"

"We really like the first house we went to see the most. And as far as the apartments – the last one. But we'd like to look into getting the first house," Kurt said.

Burt said, "I'd like to get an independent inspection of the house. How soon could we have that done and can we place a pending offer based on the outcome of the inspection?"

"I can give you a list of inspectors and as soon as one of them has an opening, the house can be inspected. And yes, we can put in an offer, pending the outcome of the inspection."

"I've already got everything pre-arranged with the bank. The loan will be in all three of our names. So, we're ready to move forward."

"Alright then. I just need the three of you to fill out some paperwork, of course. And I'll email you the list of inspectors in this area. You can choose from the list and give them my contact information and we can arrange a time."

"When is possession?" Burt asked.

"Let me look." He pulled out some paperwork. "It looks like two weeks after closing. I'm not sure why it's so long since the owners have moved out. Maybe that was the original arrangement when the house was still occupied. There were still a few things hanging on the wall and that bookcase upstairs. But the rest was empty. I can verify if they still need two weeks after closing."

"That's fine. We're not in a huge hurry. School doesn't end for another two months anyway. So, we won't be able to do much until then anyway," Kurt said.

The continued to pass the papers around and the three of them signed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt drove them to Jungle Jim's.

When they went inside, Sarah's eyes got huge. "This has to be the biggest grocery store ever."

"It has LOTS of really cool things," Kurt said. "I'm going to put you in Carole's cart and you can go explore." He picked Sarah up and put her in Carole's cart.

He and Sebastian grabbed their own cart and headed in a different direction.

"I really hope everything works out," Kurt said. He had his hand over the top of Sebastian on the cart handle.

"Me too."

"The dining room would make a good dance studio since we could put bar stools up to the counter."

Sebastian stopped to look at a display and put a small snack bag in the cart and then started walking again.

"The second bedroom gives a place to study and for you to sew and work on your projects."

"And we can build a Murphy bed at some point, so people can stay with us."

"That's true. We can let them sleep on an air mattress until we can get something like that built. If it's Burt and Carole, we can let them sleep in our bed and we can sleep on the air mattress."

"That would work. I think the only thing is that it's really short on closet space."

"Flats don't have closets like American houses do. We can just use wardrobes. We can just use an inexpensive rack like costumes hang on until we can afford a nice wardrobe to put in the landing at the top of the stairs. We can put one downstairs somewhere too. It will just take us time to buy everything."

Kurt stopped in the next aisle and put a few spice bottles in the cart.

"We'll just gradually get things. I'm fine with that. I'm not expecting it to be fully furnished when we move in. It will just be so nice to have our own place and our own space. No neighbors on the other side of a wall to worry about. And by we meet people that we want to have over, hopefully we'll have had enough time to not be living in a mostly empty house."

"Ikea has a lot of stuff reasonably priced from what we saw when we went that one time. We'll go back there when we come back in two weeks if it looks like we're going to get the house."

They continued to wander through the aisles, picking up a few things. They ended their shopping trip at the cheese case. Sebastian picked out a few small pieces and put them in the cart before they headed to check out. Kurt texted Carole, letting her know that they were heading outside. She replied that they'd be out in about 10 minutes.

Kurt and Sebastian climbed into the backseat and spent 8 minutes kissing before they heard someone opening the hatch. Sebastian slid out and let Sarah get in the middle spot and climbed back in.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They pulled up to the Hummel home at 6:00. Kurt texted Puck that they'd be over as soon as they changed. Sarah helped Carole put the groceries they had bought away. Kurt and Sebastian hurried up the stairs and changed.

They stopped by the kitchen on their way out. "We're going to help Noah now. We'll be back as soon as we can, but it might be a while."

"That's okay. Aunt Carole is going to show me how to cook chili because she says Noah likes it and I can surprise him and make it for him."

"He will like that."

"Bye, Sarah," Sebastian said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Puck had already loaded all of the boxes by the time they got there. Puck and Sebastian loaded Sarah's desk first since Puck knew she would want it at the Hummel's. They loaded her bed next. The rest of the furniture went in afterwards.

Kurt hopped in the driver's seat of the U-Haul and Puck slid in the other side. Sebastian drove the Navigator to the storage unit Burt had given Puck a key to.

"Ugh. Now we have to haul it all out of the truck and in there," Puck said.

It took them another 45 minutes to get everything in the storage unit and head to the Hummel's. It would have gone faster if Kurt had been able to use both hands.

Once they were finished at the storage facility, they headed to the Hummel's and unloaded the boxes into the garage. Kurt drove the U-Haul back to the shop and Sebastian followed him. Kurt climbed into the Navigator and leaned over the console and kissed Sebastian before they pulled out and headed back home.

When they got back, Sarah had been tasked with emptying, organizing, and putting all of the food that Puck had packed in boxes onto the shelves in the pantry. Kurt and Sebastian joined Puck in carrying the desk and Sarah's bed upstairs and into Finn's room.

"Her sheets and stuff are already in the washer. We'll put them on later," Puck said. "Let's just put the bed in the corner and her desk under the window for now since we don't even know how we're doing this yet."

They hauled all of the rest of the boxes upstairs. "Just put that one by the dresser. I don't think any of those clothes still fit her, but she's going to have to come up here and try them on. She already told me that Sebastian and Carole found her some new clothes. I appreciate that. She seems quite taken with the two of you. It's Kurt this and Sebastian that. And did I know that Sebastian can speak French? And Mexican rice has carrots in it."

"She's adorable," Kurt said.

Sebastian nodded. "Yep."

"And she said that you're going to take her camping with Sam and his sister and they're going to be friends."

"She seems to have told you everything already," Kurt laughed.

"Yeah, it was non-stop until Carole realized that I couldn't get the boxes up here with her talking to me. So, she gave her the pantry job. She asked my why your hand is in a cast and I told her you got hurt at the cheerleading competition and now she wants you to teach her to do flips."

Kurt laughed. "Of course she does. Hasn't she spent time around Santana?"

"No. Not a chance. Santana is a bitch. I don't want Sarah to grow up like that. The only people she's been around are the Glee guys some times. She would stay for a while after they came before she went next door to stay overnight. She hasn't met the football team. I wouldn't trust some of them near her. I haven't had them over to the house since my nana moved into the retirement center."

"I can understand that," Kurt said as he put the last box on the floor. "That's it. I can go get her and take her to our room to try those clothes on while you get started putting this stuff away. That will keep her from distracting you for at least 20 minutes."

Puck laughed. "Thanks. She is a chatterbox, but I just let her talk. It's good for her. No one ever listened to me and I'm not going to have it be that way for her. I'll get this stuff put away while she plays dress up with you."

Kurt picked the small box up and took it to his room. He and Sebastian went down and collected Sarah and took her back to their room.

"Noah put all of your clothes in this box. I'm going to put it over by the bathroom door. You try them on in the bathroom and come out and let us see."

"Like a fashion show?"

"Exactly." He figured if she pranced around in each outfit, it would make the whole thing take longer, giving Puck more time to empty the boxes.

Thirty minutes later, they were nearly done. "Just a few more," she called from the bathroom before she came out and did her runway walk.

She finally finished and he let her go back down to help Carole in the kitchen again. Kurt had three stacks of clothes. He put the ones that didn't fit in the box. He left the ones that needed altered on the vanity and he handed the third stack to Sebastian to carry down to Puck.

They went in. Kurt dropped the box next to the door. "Too small."

"These still fit." Sebastian handed Puck a very small stack.

"Well, that's more than I thought still fit." Puck reached for them.

"I can hang them up, if you have hangers."

"I actually don't have any that hold kids clothes. I just put her clothes in the dresser at home." He took the stack from Sebastian and sorted them and put them in the drawer.

"Some of the dresses just became shirts that she has to wear with leggings. I'm going to shorten the leggings that she's gotten too tall for into summer length leggings."

"Good deal. I appreciate you helping me with her, more than I can say."

"We'll get some kid hangers and then we can just hang one outfit up on each one and it won't take so long for her to get ready."

"That would help. Sometimes she almost misses the bus because she's looking for something."

"We'll leave you to this. I have homework left to do." Kurt stepped back towards the door.

"I never do mine, but starting tomorrow, I will become the most studious version of me to ever exist. Now that I have a little help with Sarah, I'll have time to actually do some of my own homework. I've spent the evenings cooking and cleaning, and helping her do hers, and getting her in bed. By then, I'm just tired and want to shoot things, not do Algebra or whatever."

"I'll help you with your homework, if you need it. Are you passing all of your classes?"

"Since Ma left, it's been really hard. I'm in that damn European Geography class because I thought it would be easier than World History, but I'm flunking. Some of the guys offered to help me, but you know how that will turn out."

"Everyone horsing around and making up raps or stupid songs."

"So, I need to hit the geography hard and get my grade up. Everything else I have like a C." Puck continued to empty his boxes while talking to Kurt.

"You're smart, Puck. You couldn't have kept all of this up all of these years if you weren't smart. Did you make an appointment at the vocational school?"

"Damn. I knew I forgot something. I'll do that soon."

"Please do. You heard Dad. You have to go to school or work full time once you get out of high school. He's big on working hard and making your own way. He's impressed with how you've raised Sarah. Now, just let the rest of us help you a little, so you can help yourself."

Puck looked down, clearly emotional. "Yeah. I'll work on that. I'm big on working hard and making my own way too. And letting anyone help me isn't going to be easy."

"We know." Kurt turned and walked out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went back into his room and looked through his list of incomplete homework. He started with the worksheets that needed turned in and left all of the reading for last, with the hope that he could bluff his way through an answer if he got called on.

A half hour later, Sebastian came up and told him that dinner was ready. He waited for Kurt at their door and wrapped him in a hug. "I know you're behind."

"It's not your fault." He took a deep breath, breathing in Sebastian's comforting scent. He leaned back a bit and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too. Let's go eat. Sam's back and it's a family dinner now." Sebastian kissed him gently and took his hand.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, sweetheart, I know you want to tell all of your friends tomorrow, but you need to wait until Uncle Burt gets all of the papers signed tomorrow and takes them to the school to show them your new address, okay?"

"Alright," she answered.

"Same thing for the rest of you." Burt said. "No talk of this until I get back tomorrow."

There were nods all around the table.

They worked out all of the complicated details of transportation for the next weekend. Kurt was dismissed to tackle his schoolwork. Sebastian and the others stayed back to help with the dishes.

Carole and Sarah folded up her new clothes. They went upstairs to put them away and to get Sarah ready for bed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt was sitting at the vanity completing the last worksheet that had to be turned in. He took his whole stack of items to be turned in and put them in a folder together.

Sebastian came in the room as Kurt was finishing up. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and kissed the back of his neck. "What do you have left?"

"More reading. I'll keep reading tonight, but I'll try to get the rest done tomorrow."

"Everything this weekend hit you a lot harder than everyone else."

Kurt turned in Sebastian's arms and leaned into him. "It's okay. My grades are really good. Even if I don't get the best score on one assignment, it's not going to bring my overall grade down. It's better that they're here and Sarah is safe."

"Let's take a shower and snuggle."

"Sounds perfect."

They showered quickly and put pajamas on and lay on the bed. Sebastian put the bolster on and added a pillow to the top and leaned back listening to music. Kurt sat between his legs using him as a char and read for an hour before he fell asleep. Sebastian noticed that Kurt hadn't turned the page in a few minutes and carefully noted what page he was on and moved the book to the side.

He leaned forward a bit and kissed Kurt. _"Mon étoile, you fell asleep."_

"_Mmm? Oh. Let's just go to sleep. I'm done for tonight."_ He got up and put the book on the stack on his desk. He turned the music on, the lights off and undressed. He got under the covers and lay down.

Sebastian put the bolster back in the closet and undressed as well. He scooted in behind Kurt as the big spoon and they went to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning was hectic. Kurt and Sebastian headed off to Dalton at a little after 6:00, just like Sebastian always did on Monday mornings. Sebastian drove and they talked about moving, school, and life. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about. They kissed and hugged and kissed again.

Sebastian took off running to avoid being late to class. Kurt managed to make it back to McKinley at 8:20 and only missed part of first period.

Sam went to school for the before-school Glee rehearsal, even though Puck and Kurt weren't going to make it. Sam also took Kurt's first period homework and turned it in for him, just in case he didn't make it back in time to turn it in.

Carole called the school and called Puck out for the morning. She rode with him to drop Sarah off at school and they headed down to the courthouse to meet with Burt and Hiram.

By 11:00, they had made it before the judge and Sarah's guardianship had been given to Burt and Carole and a warrant had been issued for Mrs. Puckerman.

Puck and Carole went to the landlord's and turned in the key to the house. He tried to claim that Puck would have to pay the lease out, but Carole intervened and he backed down. He took the key and that was the end of it.

Puck dropped Carole back off at the house and headed to school to finish out the school day. He stopped in main office and turned in a change of address form. He headed to the cafeteria and plopped down at the Gleek's table. He hadn't decided what to say, so he said nothing. When he and Kurt made eye contact, he just nodded very slightly. Kurt smiled in return. Sam was sitting next to him and noticed and looked at Puck who made the same gesture.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tina sat down next to Kurt in Glee. "I need to get your measurements, or you need to tell me what size you need from this catalogue. They have the teal, the salmon and the turquoise. So, let's pick which two colors to order. You look while I go measure Finn."

When she came back with his measurements, she copied them on the post it note she already had in the magazine. "I think the salmon and the turquoise. Salmon for Rachel and Finn, turquoise for me and Kendra."

"Done and done. I measured the other girls this morning. So, I'm just ordering no pink and no pale blue and repeating the other five colors. I think it will look fine. The girls don't stand in a single row at any point in time during the song, so I think it would be hard for anyone to notice that there's two of five colors and only one of the other two."

"I agree. With as much as the Troubletones move around, it won't be noticeable at all. I am super busy with stuff at home and at the shop and everything, so we'll need to get to work on adding the black accents as soon as we can, unless you have a lot of free time to just work on it yourself in a big chunk of time."

"Maybe it would be best if we just divide up the parts then. Maybe you could just make the 13 bows for the dresses. Quinn said she can help with the sashes and straps. She's not a great seamstress, but she said she could help with the pinning and assembly line aspect so I don't have to get up and down a hundred times."

"That would be the best for me. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Things are okay with you and Sebastian, though, right?"

"Yes. It's just finalizing college plans, trying to work as much as I need to with Dad gone to DC a lot, just stuff."

"I get it. I'm sure that next year around this time, I will be trying to do too many things at once too."

"Have you been thinking about where you want to go?"

"I'd really like to go to Brown."

"There are books at the library on how to improve your chances of getting in. They really helped me. So, did talking to someone at a university, rather than talking to Miss Pillsbury, who, while she is very nice, is not very well informed. Brown is a top school. You're going to need a good CV and that means you need to broaden your extra-curriculars. Just being in Glee isn't going to be enough. Join something now, if you can, so that you can put it on this year's list of activities."

"Alright. I will go to the library and find those books. I should have realized that whatever we were being told here wouldn't be enough. I'll do my own research."

"Good."

"Rachel's freaking out about her NYADA audition next Friday. Why are you so calm?"

"Because for me, NYADA isn't the end all and be all. I will do my best and we'll see what happens."

"I guess that's all you can do anyway. Freaking out rarely helps anyone perform better." She looked through her notes in the catalog. "I've got everyone now. I'm ordering two dress shirts and 7 dresses. Who knows, if we ask, maybe Sugar's dad will just pay for the material we need, if we let her help us somehow. I just have to think of a job she can actually do."

"Well, Ms. Corcoran managed to teach her to sing, and I thought that was hopeless. I'm sure you'll find something she can do to help." He laughed.

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "I'll work on that."

Kurt looked at the clock. "Mr. Schue is like 15 minutes late. We need to just get started without him." Kurt stood up and walked down to the front. "Places. Down here on floor level everyone. Stand next to your partner and form a semi-circle and we're going to run the vocals for 'True Colors.'" He gave them time to move and then nodded for Brad and the band to go ahead and start.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam climbed in and they headed off to the shop.

"I wonder where Mr. Schue was."

"I have no idea. But if he's not here tomorrow, I'm not staying. I'm heading straight to the shop. I'm struggling to stay afloat now. The Monday morning rehearsals are cutting off an hour I was using to do the books. And having my platonic dates with Kendra on Thursday evenings are eating up several hours. Then going to Westerville every other weekend instead of being here to work, is cutting into my ability to get the work at the shop done too."

"What happened to your dad's lecture on 'having fun while you're young?'"

"In one ear, out the other?" Kurt joked.

"I don't think he'll appreciate that."

"I'm sure he won't. I have to come up with a better solution then. When I get home, I'm re-evaluating everything, reprioritizing and rescheduling."

"How did the house hunting go?"

"Oh, that was fun. We picked a place. Dad's setting up an inspection. We'll see how that turns out. The place we picked has two bedrooms and it's a block from the city bus route that goes right to the university. So, it's nice and quiet, but we can still get to class easily."

"That's cool."

"What have you decided?"

"I can't decide still. The regular admissions letters haven't gone out yet. I should get a letter on Thursday. It's a long shot anyway. If I don't get in, I'm seriously considering a vocational program I've been looking at."

"Puck is going to look in to HVAC repair I think."

"That pays good. That was one of the fields I've been considering."

Kurt pulled into a spot in the shop lot. "Let's go fix cars and change tires."

"Woo hoo." Sam completely deadpanned.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When Kurt called Sebastian that evening, he was exhausted. He had reworked his schedule for the week at least, but he really wished he could just climb into bed and hold Sebastian close.

"_Mon étloile, are you okay?"_

"_Not really. I miss you. I'm just tired and I miss you."_

"_Lie down and I'll sing you a song and you can go to sleep. Whatever it is that you have left to do, you won't do it well this tired anyway."_

"_You're right. Give me a second. I'm turning the lights off and getting into bed…Okay. I'm ready."_ Kurt turned his phone to speaker and laid it on the shelf by his bed. He didn't remember hearing the end of the song.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, he was out of the house by 6:15 and worked for an hour and a half before heading to school. Since Puck was living with them, Kurt asked Sam to ride with Puck for the rest of the week.

He spent the time in pre-calculus that his teacher wasted collecting everyone's homework by walking around the room reading the explanation of how to do the next set of problems. Then he started working on the problem set itself instead of listening to the teacher explain how to do the problems. By the end of class, he had the problem set done.

He grabbed food and headed outside away from the crowds and did some English reading. He used every wasted minute of class time reading.

He headed to the choir room and there was a note written on the white board: NO GLEE. He texted Sam and they headed to the shop. They spent the first hour reading their Government assignment.

They did their jobs, headed home, ate, washed dishes, and headed upstairs. A few minutes later, there was a knock on Kurt's door.

"Come in."

Burt came in and took a seat by the window. "This stops for the next three weeks."

"What?"

"You running off at 6 whatever in the morning to the shop and then working after school too. I told you that I didn't want you working yourself into the ground."

"I don't know what else to do, Dad. Sebastian really wanted to play lacrosse and he loves it. You saw him play."

"Yeah. He's good."

"Well, this is his last season to play since he's not going to play in college. I didn't want him to miss out, but the books need done and you still need me to work on the harder mechanical issues every day after school. So, I either have to keep this crazy schedule or give up my time with him every other weekend and stay home to work then instead."

"I see."

"And then once the cast comes off, Coach Sue wants me to come back and dance and sing with Santana and Britt for Nationals, which only gives me two weeks to learn the dance and music since she's been waiting for me to come back to start rehearsing it."

"Stop. Just listen to me, kiddo. I'm going to change Cassius' hours until Nationals. He may hate it, but he'll live. He doesn't have any little kids at home anymore who need picked up from school or shuffled from here to there. You'll go in each afternoon and do the books until they're done. Then you'll move to the bays to fix something, if you have time. No running to the shop before school until after cheerleading Nationals."

"But, Dad…"

"No buts. I already know your level of dedication and your level of self-reliance. This is what I want and I want you to enjoy the next two months of high school to the best of your ability. And Sebastian too. And Puck. For different reasons, you've all had pretty crummy lives. I'm being paid more than I've ever made. It may not last, but while it does, I'm paying down as much of our debt as I can. I've already wiped out the medical bills, and the car I bought cash. I'm putting back money to pay towards the house for you boys in Cincinnati. I'm going to pay the taxes on it each year. You two can cover the other expenses."

"Thank you."

"But no more overworking yourself. You have plenty of time to work more hours this summer, if you really need the money. Sam says you've already taken on another stray, a girl this time."

"He did not call her a stray. Tell me he didn't."

Burt laughed at Kurt's indignation. "Of course not. Why did you agree to date a girl?"

"I knew what would happen. We were short one girl to make even boy-girl pairs. Finn had already threatened to wear a face mic and play the drums rather than dance. I knew that would be his immediate solution. And the only person unpaired was Rachel."

"I see. So, you got one of the other girls from that girl group to sing with you so you wouldn't be paired with Rachel for 8 weeks of rehearsals."

"Seemed like a good trade to me. Kendra's actually nice and she can sing and dance. If I were straight, she'd be a really nice girl to date."

"And she knows you're gay. You're not leading her on, are you?"

"I talked to her about it. I think she just wants a nice evening out. When I took her home last week, I found out that she lives in a bad part of our district. It didn't look like anyone was home when she went in. I waited until she had the light on and the door closed behind her before I drove off. If I had to guess, she joined the Cheerios purely for the social status that she could never attain by being poor with no nice clothes to wear. That's the one thing I'll give Sue credit for. By requiring the Cheerios to wear their uniforms to school every single day of the year, she gives girls a chance to make something of themselves and have social status at the school that would normally be out of reach to the poor girls."

"I see. Well, that might be one small reason not to think Sue's a loony toon."

"She manages to get a lot of those girls college scholarships. So, as nutty and horrible as she can be, she gives a group of girls a chance they would otherwise never have gotten. I think Kendra is one of those girls. She doesn't have the reputation some of the Cheerios have. She's actually a good student. She's in some of my classes."

"Alright, bud. If you want to give this girl a nice night once a week, I'm not going to stop you. But you're not going to run yourself ragged trying to get your schoolwork done either. I'm going to go back downstairs and you're going to do whatever schoolwork you've got left. Once that cast comes off and you go back to Cheerios rehearsals, you'll only being doing the books in the afternoons. No arguing. I'm changing the schedule starting next week for two weeks, you said, right?"

"Yes."

"Then that's that." Burt stood up and walked to the bedroom door. "Two weeks of you doing the books only afterschool starting next Monday."

"Thanks, Dad."

Burt went back downstairs.

Kurt flopped back on his bed and took a deep breath before sitting back up and heading to the shower.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt slogged through the rest of his week by reminding himself that Friday wasn't that far away. Friday finally arrived and he worked at the shop that morning until 9:00, and then he headed straight to the doctor's office complex to get his cast off and have his wrist x-rayed.

An hour and a half later and visits with two doctors, he left with a cast-free wrist, a removable brace, and a written report that said he could dance with the Cheerios, but couldn't participate in any tumbling. He wasn't forbidden from flying, but he was cautioned to wear the brace he was given if he was going to attempt it. He decided he'd wait until Monday to decide whether he thought he could handle it.

He went back home after the appointment and showered and scrubbed his arm gently and the moisturized the whole area. He finished up his packing for the weekend and loaded his small suitcase into the Navigator. He ate lunch and headed back to school for his afternoon classes. Mr. Schue had been out all week with a sub and as soon as the final bell rang, he headed to the parking lot and took off for Westerville. Puck was going to drop Sam off at the shop.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt stopped by the front office and picked up his pass and headed straight up to Sebastian's room and knocked. Sebastian opened the door and a huge smile spread across his face.

"Did I misread the time the last time I checked?" Sebastian stepped back into the room, letting Kurt get through the door with his bags.

Kurt stepped inside the door and closed it behind him. "Nope. Mr. Schue's been out sick. I'm not hanging around just to chat. I left after the last bell and came straight here." He put his satchel in Sebastian's chair and his suitcase next to Sebastian's dresser. He put his arm in front of him and in his announcer voice he said, "Ta da… Behold the cast-free wrist. It's an elegant addition to this spring's line."

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt. "You're crazy. I love you. I missed you. I'm glad your cast is off. So, it's fine now?"

"It's fine. I can even go back to flying, if I feel up to it. I haven't decided yet."

"Well, your flying is spectacular, and whatever you decide is fine with me. So, does this mean we're headed to Florida in two weeks?"

"It does indeed. Except the big issue of the fact that you have a lacrosse game that afternoon."

"I know. It's a dilemma. I need to go talk to the coach. Come with me?"

"Sure."

"Kisses first."

"Of course."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After dinner, they were in Sebastian's room sitting on the bed and talking finally. "I'm not upset, Bas. Please believe me."

"I'm trying to. This isn't how it was supposed to be. I didn't think he would respond that way. It's just one game."

"We'll make it work. We will. Slide to the middle." Kurt stood up and let Sebastian move. He climbed onto Sebastian's lap and leaned forward and kissed him. He pressed in and kissed him with warm reassuring kisses, and then wrapped his arms around his neck. He leaned forward and nuzzled into Sebastian's neck. "You can wrap your arms around my back now. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Sebastian held him tight. "I'm going with you. Either we make it work so I'm with you, or I will quit the team."

"If that's your decision, then I will stand with you in your choice. If you want to stay here and not risk being kicked off, I will understand and not be angry with you. Did you get a team regulations booklet or anything?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because there must be something in there about your 'commitment' to the team and what qualifies as an acceptable reason to miss a game."

"That's a good idea. It's on my shelf."

Kurt moved off his lap and let him get up. Sebastian grabbed the booklet and brought it back. Kurt leaned against the headboard again and Sebastian sat next to him. He started by looking through the index to see if he could find it. He flipped through several pages, scanning for what he was looking for.

"Nope. If I don't show up, the rules say he can suspend me for the rest of the season and revoke my letter. Dalton seems to take commitment to the extreme. There are virtually no exceptions."

"Well, I'll talk to Coach Sue Monday and see what I can do about getting tickets that get us back to Columbus in time for you to play. You don't have practices on Fridays, so we can still fly out with the squad Thursday evening after your game."

Sebastian dropped the booklet on the floor next to his bed. He scooted down in the bed and turned on his side. "I wanted to get to stay the second night and go to the beach and sightseeing the rest of the team on Saturday and Sunday."

Kurt scooted down too. "Well, as we both already know, we don't always get what we want. But I will see about getting tickets back for when you need to be here."

"I won't go back on my word to you. Yes, I'm committed to the team, but you will always come first." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt. "Don't ever think anything different."

"Okay."

They lay facing each other trading gentle kisses back and forth. Kurt put his hand on he side of Sebastian's face and stroked his cheek with his thumb, which was something he had missed being able to do for 6 weeks.

Their snuggles and kisses were interrupted by a fairly loud knock on the door.

Sebastian spoke silently, "I'm not answering the door." And went back to kissing Kurt.

Whoever it was knocked again.

Sebastian didn't move. He just wrapped his arm around Kurt and pulled him closer.

The person knocked a third time. They snuggled up and continued to kiss. There was no more knocking. Sebastian smiled. "Whoever it was can come back later or tomorrow. If whoever it is really needs me, I'll get a text."

Kurt nodded. "I'm actually really tired. Would you mind if we showered now and we just snuggle until we fall asleep?"

"I've been looking forward to snuggling you for four days. I'm definitely ready to snuggle."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got out of the shower and had dried off, they wrapped their towels around their waists. Kurt moisturized his face and turned to do Sebastian's. After Kurt finished, he turned back toward the sink and opened the cabinet to get the toothpaste out and found Sebastian's bottle of hidden moisturizer.

"What's this?" Kurt grinned and turned to face a sheepish Sebastian, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"Umm…"

"Uh huh. You have your OWN bottle of moisturizer?" he laughed. He stepped back toward Sebastian causing him to step back until he was against the wall. Kurt put his arms on both sides, blocking him from moving. "I love you." He moved his hands to cup Sebastian's face. He kissed him. "I think it's adorable. You like it when I put it on you, don't you?"

"Guilty as charged. I like it when you touch me, period."

"Mmm. The feeling is mutual. He ran his hands down Sebastian's arms. He stepped back and pulled another bottle out of his toiletries bag and showed him the bottle of lotion he had brought with him. "Massages?"

"Yes. Definitely, yes."

They brushed their teeth and headed to the bed with the bottle of lotion.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt and Sebastian got dressed and Sebastian headed down to breakfast and Kurt went outside to the gardens to wait for him. Kurt had brought homemade zucchini bread with him this time and took the portions he had brought for Saturday out to the gardens. Sebastian brought back two containers of vanilla yogurt and two cups of coffee and met him in the gardens. They ate and managed to flatten all of the trash so it fit in the Ziploc bag Kurt had brought the bread in. Sebastian stuffed into the kangaroo pocket on his lacrosse hoodie so they could continue on their walk away from the school.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, the inspection is set for Tuesday. We should have the report by Friday," Kurt said.

"If the report is not what we're hoping for, are we going to take that apartment if it's still available?"

"I think so, don't you? None of the other houses were really what I was looking for and they were all a little farther from a bus stop than I was hoping for. I don't mind moving away from campus, but I don't want our commute to be a 20-minute hike to a bus stop, plus a 20-minute ride to a stop near campus and another 15-minute walk after we get off the bus. That's like nearly an hour each way. We can keep looking for a house this time next year, if we take the apartment. It's at least right by campus and has it's own washer and dryer hook up and none of the other apartments had that."

"I know you've never had to go to a laundromat, but I don't like them. I don't like my clothes smelling like what other people washed and dried their stuff with. I don't want to smell like a fresh spring day in the meadows or whatever. I just want my clothes to smell like fabric."

"I never really thought about it. But I know that I'd rather not have to drive my clothes somewhere to wash them if I have another option. The apartment only has the one bedroom, but the living room was okay and that built-in desk off the kitchen creates an office of sorts. We'd have to get a sofa bed for anyone to be able to stay with us."

"I want the house to work out, but if it doesn't mostly I just want us to be together. I was on my own for 18 years and now we've been friends for 5 months, and together for 2½ months, and it's the best thing that has ever happened to me. Even before you asked me to go out with you, which was 'icing on the cake', I believe is the expression – it's just been amazing."

"We've survived and it's almost time for us to fly." Kurt took off running and put his arms out and pretended to fly through the gardens.

Sebastian cracked up laughing. He chased after him and managed to wrap his arms around his torso and spun him in a circle.

"Put me down. You're going to pull something in your back," Kurt fussed.

Sebastian put him down and grabbed his hand instead and pulled him close and kissed him.

"Now, who's the crazy one?"

"We'll be crazy together." He kissed him again. He pulled back and stepped back. He got down on one knee and held Kurt's hand. "Kurt Hummel will you be my date to prom?"

"Yes, yes, of course." Kurt pulled him back up to his feet. "When is it? I didn't even know Dalton had a prom."

"It's a joint venture between Dalton and Crawford County Day. But we can invite outside guests. It's May 5th, which is a weekend you had already planned to be here."

"Perfect." He hugged Sebastian and then kissed him. "Is there a theme or is it black tie or what?"

"I don't know. I'm sure we can find out though. There are some flyers up, but I just added the date to my phone calendar. I didn't think about the rest. I just want to go with you."

"This will be so much better than the McKinley prom. I don't think I'll even go to it unless Sam convinces Brittany to make it a costume party. If he does, I think I'll go as Freddie Mercury because Sam has been threatening to wear the David Bowie suit to prom ever since I finished altering it."

"So, you'd go with Sam?"

"No, not as a date. Look at me."

Sebastian met his gaze.

"I only love you. Sam is my friend, my closest friend – besides you of course. If he likes guys, he's never told me so."

"I'm not worried about you messing around with Sam. I know you're not the cheating type. It just felt like… like you didn't want people to see me with you."

"I would kiss you in the middle of the Lima Mall if you wanted me to. We might get thrown out for 'public indecency' or some other nonsensical charge. I am not ashamed of you – not at all. Of course I want you to come. I was trying to think of a way for it not end in me being crowned Prom Queen again. So, to be honest, I had been trying to figure out who I could ask and who I could convince to ask you so that none of the couples would be same-sex and maybe we could keep the focus on having fun rather than being humiliated."

"I'm sorry." He stepped toward Kurt and reached for him.

Kurt took his hands automatically and stepped closer. "For what? For thinking I wouldn't want people to see you with me? I know you still struggle with feeling like I'm 'out of your league' like you told Tina all those months ago. I should have explained my idea first before I mentioned Sam. The way I said it did make it sound like I was going with him. I love Sam, but like a brother – a good brother. The kind that has your back and cares about you. But I don't have any romantic feelings for him." He put his hands around the side and back of Sebastian's neck and gently pulled him into a deep passionate kiss. When they broke apart for air, he said, "Those kisses are for you and have only ever been for you. I love you, Sebastian." He followed his heartfelt declaration up with more gentle kisses. He slid his hands towards the front and down Sebastian's chest, resting them on his hips.

"I love you too." He slipped his arms under Kurt's and put his hands up along Kurt's shoulder blades and pulled him closer and held him tight.

Sebastian's phone pinged with a text. He let go of Kurt, but Kurt didn't move his hands off of Sebastian's waist. Sebastian looked his text, but looked confused. He turned it and showed it to Kurt. "Why is this supposed to matter to me?"

It said: "Cooper Anderson will be in the Warblers practice room in 30 minutes to give performance tips. Please attend if possible."

"Oh, my God. I bet Blaine is mortified," Kurt said.

"I'm so lost. First tell me why I would care that Cooper Anderson is here."

"Well, he's a famous TV actor. He played some detective or FBI agent or something in a TV series that ran for a few years. And he does commercials."

"Alright. That makes a little more sense. Someone famous is here, so people are excited. Now, explain the part about why Blaine won't be happy about it."

"Cooper is Blaine's older brother."

"He's what you didn't talk about because it would be gossip."

"Exactly."

Sebastian pulled up a photo of Cooper and then put his phone to sleep and put it back in his pocket. "He's the older, taller, handsome, famous brother. He's like 30 or something."

"Blaine didn't specify, but that would fit other things he said."

"So, my hypothesis is that Cooper is straight, he's successful, and he's the favorite child."

"Good deductive skills, but I am not verifying your hypothesis."

"Got it. But I am not going to the Warblers room in 30 minutes since I don't give a care about meeting him and I am actually okay with my performance skills."

"I think as lead Warbler, the council is going to expect you to be there since you are here this weekend."

"Ugh. Then you're coming too. You have a pass to be anywhere."

"That won't go over well."

"Too bad."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian slipped into the room from the back entrance since they were late. They had been fairly far out past the garden hedges when Sebastian had gotten the text and he had to change into a proper uniform to go to the meeting.

As they opened the door quietly and stepped inside, they could hear singing.

_Dark in the city night is a wire_

_Steam in the subway earth is a fire_

_Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo_

"Duran Duran?" Kurt whispered.

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders and they walked silently into the room and stood along the back wall. Then they saw what was going on. Blaine and Cooper were singing a duet mash-up of "Rio" and "Hungry Like a Wolf". They kept trying to one up each other with dance moves and over-the-top emoting. The song finally came to an end and they all clapped.

The next 45 minutes were excruciatingly long as Cooper gave a "Master Acting" class using the Warblers as the actors that he was directing.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour and a half after the text summoning them to the Warblers' room, Kurt and Sebastian left campus. "Have you ever skateboarded?"

"Yeah, I like it. Some of the guys at school had skateboards and they let me use them."

"I want to get skateboards. Maybe not today, but it's fun."

"Alright. We could go to the mall and look at them."

"We'll do that and we'll go to Goodwill. We'll come back by 3:30 so you can change for the game."

"I feel really bad for Blaine. Cooper just … wow… I don't even know what to say. A Duran Duran face-off, duet style? Why would someone so much older be so competitive? I mean that would be like Puck trying to prove he's better at everything than Sarah. No wonder Blaine is such an attention hog."

"He needs help. I sort of feel bad fleeing the school, but I can't be that person for him. I'll try talking to Trent later. See if he'll check on Blaine after Cooper leaves."

"No, not Trent. It needs to be a senior or someone we're sure is straight. I don't know whether Trent likes guys or not, but he will still be here next year and I'd hate for him to get pulled in like you did."

"Good point. Maybe David. He's calm and he's a senior. Maybe he can be supportive because… yeah… like you said, I don't even know what to say."


	24. Chapter 24

Kurt was surprised to get a text from Carole at 3:30 saying that she and Burt were almost to Westerville. Sebastian went to the locker room to get ready for the game and Kurt headed down to the lot to meet them without telling Sebastian. He was surprised when he saw Puck and Sarah get out of the back seat. When she saw Kurt, her face lit up.

"Kurt!" she squealed as she jumped up for him to pick her up. He carried her up to the school. "I wanna see where Sebastian lives when he's not at home with us."

"Stand right here." He put her down and turned to everyone else. "I'm going to take Sarah inside and walk through the school. We'll meet the three of you by the field."

They headed the other direction and Kurt took Sarah inside. He knew that no one would be bothered by a small child in the school. He gave her a small tour.

"Up those stairs is his room. He has a room by himself with its own bathroom, but I don't have a key, so we can't go up there to see it. But I'll show you the rest of the building."

She walked along holding his hand. "Noah told me that you went to this school last year because someone was really mean to you."

"That's true. But that person doesn't go to McKinley anymore, so now it's okay."

"That's good."

"So this way is the cafeteria, which is also called a dining hall."

"Like a dining room but much, much bigger?"

"Exactly right." He picked her up so she could see in the windows on the doors since it wasn't open.

"It's fancier and much bigger than our school cafeteria. So, dining hall sounds like a good name for it."

The hallway they were in ended when it intersected at a T. "Down that way are the regular classrooms where they have English and Math and stuff. And this way there are rooms they call 'commons'. They are areas that the students can use to study and some of them have pianos in them that people can play. They're like big fancy living rooms. Most of them have fireplaces, big couches, and some tables in them. The Warblers rehearsal room is down there too. The Warblers are like what Noah calls Glee Club. And Sebastian is the lead singer."

"He must be very good."

"He is." Kurt smiled.

"Do you want to see the room they practice in?"

"Yes!"

He led her down the hall.

"It's very fancy here. I've never seen such a fancy place before except in movies."

"That's what I thought when I came here." He opened the door and looked inside. No one was in the room, so he opened the door and took her inside. "This is where they practice."

"It's pretty."

"It is. I'll show you the part of the school that's the fanciest before we go outside to watch the game."

"Noah explained to me how to play lacrosse when I asked him. He showed me a video on YouTube."

"That's good. It's very fast and it's hard to see who has the ball sometimes. Sebastian's going to be surprised to see you." He turned the corner.

She gasped. "It's like _Beauty and the Beast_ or something. Will you take my picture on those fancy stairs? I want to show my friends that I came here."

"Stand right there." Kurt backed up and tried to get as much of the room in the shot as he could. He showed her the photo.

"I like it," she said with a huge smile on her face. "I'm glad I wore one of my new dresses. It's not as fancy as my birthday dress, but it's still pretty."

"You're right. It looks lovely on you. Take my hand, we're going to go out the back of the building and walk over to the field."

They walked out back and stood by the edge to surprise Sebastian. They only had to wait for a few minutes.

Once she saw him coming, she took off running and yelling his name. "Sebastian!"

He turned and greeted her with a huge smile and picked her up and spun her around in a circle. "Well, if it isn't the beautiful Sarah."

"We've all come to watch you play. Uncle Burt and Aunt Carole and Noah are sitting somewhere already. Kurt took me inside to see your school. It's VERY fancy."

"It is very fancy. I'm glad you came. I'm going to put you down and you need to run back over to Kurt and go find everybody and sit with them."

She took off running as soon as he sat her down. Kurt took her hand and they made their way into the stands to find the rest of their group.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They found everyone and Puck scooted down and let Sarah sit by Carole. Kurt sat next to her and Puck sat back down on the end next to Kurt.

"Ever since she got up today it's been non-stop 'Sebastian'." Puck just shook his head and laughed. "This week has been tough, but I've seen how happy she is with Carole. She needed a mom. And Carole is all mom. She mothers everyone."

"She's good at it. How are you holding up?"

"Doing homework sucks."

"Yeah. That's not news."

"Me doing it is news."

Kurt laughed. "I guess so."

"I brought my English book to read, but Sarah was a chatterbox all the way here."

"At least she doesn't whine all the way somewhere."

"That's true. I'll count my blessings. I can't thank you enough for taking us in. Your dad is awesome. Freaking scary, but awesome. I should have just told him and Carole when Ma ran off. I kept thinking, 'Oh, she'll be back in a few days', but after a month, I should have just told him. But she's safe now. No one can take her and that's what counts."

"So, what was all that talk about running off to California and restarting your pool business out there?"

"I don't know. Just me runnin' off at the mouth like I used to. No one expects me to be successful. Everyone sees me as a Lima Loser. It's easier to feed the same BS to them than it is to explain the reality of my life. None of them know that Ma ran off."

The announcer's voice came over the PA system and the game started. Sarah had a great time cheering for Sebastian. Dalton won again 15-11. After the game, everyone waited for Sebastian to change and they drove to a Chinese restaurant. Sarah insisted on riding with Sebastian and Kurt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I've decided that I like Chinese food," Sarah stated. "When we got here and I looked at it, I wasn't sure. But I did what Kurt said and took one bite of each thing up there and tried all of it. And it's good."

Puck laughed. "I think you like all food."

"I think maybe I do. I want take real cooking lessons when I get a little bigger, like when I'm 10 and I'm taller."

"That's sounds like a good plan, Squirt." Puck turned to Sebastian and asked, "So, that was your 7th game?"

"Yeah. So, far we're 7-0. I don't know if we've just played the less competitive teams or what. I guess we'll see as the season goes on. We have 10 more games before any playoffs."

"I like lacrosse better than football," Sarah said. "Football is boring. They just line up and then line up again and the game stops every time someone catches the ball or drops it."

Kurt laughed. "That's exactly what I think, Sarah."

Sebastian said nothing, but had a huge smile on his face and he winked at Sarah, making her laugh.

"Bas, I don't like it that you're only going to come home once in a while. Noah said that you only come home four days a month. Maybe your school is more like a jail, even though it is very pretty."

Kurt laughed. "It's boarding school for students who can't go to their local schools or who have parents who travel a lot and aren't home. And sometimes families just send students there because it offers special classes that other schools don't offer."

"I still don't like it, but at least this time we got to come see you."

"And I like it when people come see me. I'll come home next Friday. So, that will be in…"

She stuck her fingers up while she named the days of the week. "Seven days." She scowled. "That's a lot of days."

"But what are we going to do when I get there?"

"We're going to pack your stuff in Kurt's … what is it?

"Navigator," Kurt supplied.

"In Kurt's Navigator and make treats. Then, Saturday morning we're going to Ieave very early to go to Sam's house in Kentucky and I get to meet Stevie and Stacey. And we're taking a tent and if I like it, I'll sleep in there and if not, I'll sleep in the house."

"Exactly right. So, every day this week, you can help Kurt and Noah get ready for our camping trip."

"I'm super excited." She was swinging her feet with a huge smile on her face.

"Do you want anything else to eat?" Carole asked.

"Can I have some of the ice cream?"

"Sure. Let's go get some."

After the two of them had gotten to the ice cream machine, Kurt teased Burt. "Just think, Dad, you'll have 48 hours of silence next weekend."

"She's a good kid. I think part of the constant chatter is nerves still. She's excited, but afraid."

Puck added, "And to be honest, she's probably a little afraid both ways. She's afraid Ma will never come back and she's afraid that she will and that she'll have to go back to living with her."

"It's hard to wish your mother would change and try really hard to be good and it have it never change anything," Sebastian said.

Kurt slipped his hand onto Sebastian's thigh and he moved his hand to hold it.

"Yeah. And now that she's run off, Sarah probably wonders if she caused it," Kurt added. "I know my situation was different, but people said things to me when I was younger that made it seem like it might have been my fault that my mom died. It just makes me wonder if maybe Sarah thinks she has to be extra good and extra cheerful or she won't get to stay with us, like we'll leave her too."

"I'll talk to her about that. You make a good point that I hadn't thought of. I hadn't thought about her thinking that it's her fault. I'll make sure and tell her that it's not."

They stopped talking as Sarah got closer. She got back in her chair. "Look, they even had sprinkles." She sat quietly and ate the small serving of ice cream, swinging her legs and smiling.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They spent all day Sunday relaxing. They lay in bed snuggling for a long time, continued reading the book they had been reading together, took another walk around campus, ate with Jeff and Nick in the dining hall for lunch, and watched a movie with them that afternoon.

At 6:00, they headed to Bellefontaine to meet up with Sam. It added 45 minutes to Sam's drive to Lima, but it had been the best solution they had come up with. They parked and moved all of Sam's stuff to the Navigator and then headed inside the diner. Kurt took Sebastian's hand as they walked down the sidewalk.

The three of them sat in a booth. They all ordered milkshakes based on Kurt's recommendation of how they were homemade and really good.

"So, this is where Kurt and I had our first date."

Sam looked around and laughed. "Here?"

"He's teasing. I met him here not long after you came back to Ohio. You'd been back a couple of weeks. It wasn't a date." Kurt reached over to Sebastian's lap and put his hand on his thigh.

"I think it was the first time we actually met each other. The other couple of times we had briefly spoken we wearing our masks."

"I've heard Santana call it 'ice bitch mode'," Sam said.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "That doesn't surprise me. She loves to call me girly names."

"You've never used it on me, so I figured you reserved it for bullies," Sam said.

Kurt nodded. "And some strangers while assessing them."

"I was hitting on Blaine and I did insult Kurt, so I brought it on myself," Sebastian said.

"It was more of a wake up call. And I asked him here to thank him." Kurt drew an "I", then drew a heart, and then a "U" on Sebastian's leg.

Sam changed the subject. "Stacey is on cloud nine, just so you know."

"Well, Sarah is super excited. Puck told her yesterday. They all came to watch my lacrosse game."

"Oh, so I'll go home to hear a different 8 year old talk non-stop about camping?"

"Exactly," Kurt said.

Sam laughed. "How big is this tent?"

"It says it sleeps 6, but that's only if you line up all of the sleeping bags one next to the other. But 3 little kids and the four of us should fit. And it's only for one night."

The waitress brought their shakes out and they enjoyed them while still talking a little. They paid their bill, left a tip, and headed back outside.

Kurt walked with Sebastian to the car. Once Sebastian was in the driver's seat, he rolled the window down. Kurt leaned down. "I love you. I'll see you Friday."

"I love you too."

Kurt leaned in and kissed him, and then headed back to the Navigator.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt got in the passenger side. "I can drive, if you want. I've only driven about 50 minutes and you've already driven 2½ hours."

"Nah, I'm good. If I get tired, we can switch."

Sam stayed awake by talking about his weekend. He had gotten to visit with a lot of his relatives because they had driven to Tennessee really early Saturday morning to have an Easter family reunion.

It made Kurt both happy and sad to see him so excited. He had been down for quite a while, although he had been more cheerful in the last few weeks, but he had lost a lot of his spunk. He knew he'd be happier back in Tennessee with his extended family. Maybe that was one of the things he had been contemplating that was making his choices so hard.

Kurt realized that it was better that Nationals wasn't in New York City this time. He knew he'd be feeling torn if he went back there. It really was what he had dreamed of, but sometimes dreams cost too much and sometimes it took time save up to make them happen.

"Earth to Kurt." Sam poked him in the leg.

"Oh, sorry. I zoned out."

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Only if paradise is New York City. I was just thinking that I was glad that we're not going there next month. I'm still coming to terms with having to put my dream on hold. But I need to stop thinking about it like that. College in New York is a pipe dream for a guy like me. Not because I have no chance of making it there, but because I am not independently wealthy and because I'm not willing to risk an entire decade of debt to go to college there. The school I got into is actually ranked higher. I just need to keep reminding myself of that. I'm still working on merging my false assumptions with reality and figuring out whether my dream even makes any sense."

"I have good news. That's what I had said when I realized that you had zoned out."

"What's your good news?"

"I got in. I got my acceptance letter on Friday. You were already gone by the time I got it out of the mailbox. I got in!"

"Sam, that's fantastic. So, are you going to accept?"

"Yes. I talked to my parents. If I don't get offered enough financial aid to keep my debt down to about $5000 a year, I'm going to go ahead and move in with them for the first year. I'll work part time and then all next summer so I can move closer. But it's about a 30-minute drive, which isn't all that bad."

"No, it's not. What do you want to major in?"

"Graphic art or design or fine arts."

"Now, we'll still get to see each other. I was afraid you were going to be moving really far away with how down you had been. I honestly wondered if your dad had gotten a new job like in Texas or something and you were considering going with them."

"Oh. He has been trying to get them back to Tennessee so they'd get to be around more family. But since I'll get in-state tuition here in Ohio, I won't follow them to Tennessee, even if he does finally get a job there again. If they move during the year, I'll just have to figure out what to do. It's only about a 3-hour drive from where they are now to where we used to live in Tennessee. So, it wouldn't be impossible to go spend some weekends with them like I have been this year."

"That's good. I'm glad things are working out. Are you going to tell people or is this a secret for now?"

"For now, I'm going to tell your parents and you can tell Sebastian. I'm not sure about Puck. That was a big surprise last weekend to come back and find him and Sarah in Finn's room."

"It was a very spur of the moment move."

"I just don't understand some adults."

"Yeah. I haven't understood a lot of them for a long time. Adults have said some pretty awful things to me over the years. A lot of them really seemed to miss the lesson on keeping quiet unless they had something nice to say. Don't get me wrong. Some things need to be spoken out against. There is nothing nice to say about child abuse. But that's completely different than keeping quiet about the way a child is dressed or what a child likes to do in their free time. Adults who make children feel bad about themselves really upset me, especially ones that make kids feel like they ruined the parent's life for being born."

The two of them had their first long conversation in months. Kurt felt like the world was righting itself.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam pulled into the driveway, hopped out, and grabbed his bag. Kurt grabbed all of his stuff, and they headed inside. Kurt stopped by the washer and tossed the clothes they had picked up at Goodwill into wash by themselves in a small load. He was greeted by an enthusiastic hug when he walked back into the kitchen.

"Why Miss Sarah, you are just the person I was going to go look for."

"Why?" she asked with a gleam in her eye.

"Because I have something for you in this bag." He held it behind his back.

"What is it?" she asked excitedly, trying to peek around him.

"Take three steps back, and then close your eyes." He pulled out the Barbie lunchbox he had found and sat it on the counter next to the sink.

"Open them."

She looked at him, then around the room. "A Barbie lunchbox for me?"

"Yep."

"But I eat the school lunch."

"Not anymore. We'll be packing your lunch from now on."

"Really?"

"Yep. You can help prep the food and pack your own lunch."

"Do I get to pick what goes in it?"

"That depends on how well you can make good choices. You can't take a slice of chocolate cake, 3 cookies, a candy bar, and a bag of chips."

"I'd get sick if I ate that much junk food. Noah doesn't buy junk food. He says it's expensive and not good for me to eat a lot of it."

"Well, he's right. So, you'll be able to choose between healthy choices and then choose one snack item or dessert, if we have any."

"That seems fair."

"So, I'm going to wash it so it can be ready to use. After it's dry, we'll write your name on the inside."

"Okay. Am I taking my lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes. So, let's look in the refrigerator. You seem to like most everything, which will make it easier."

She pulled it open and looked. I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I like those baby carrots. Can I have those?"

"Yes." Kurt pulled out the carrots and the jar of peanut butter. "What else?"

"Is there applesauce?"

"No, but we'll get some if you like it."

"I love applesauce. Umm… how about those strawberries. Can I have those?"

"Yes." Kurt grabbed the box. "Okay. Let's get started. Wash your hands and then climb up on one of the stools at the island so you can reach better."

Kurt went in the pantry and brought the bread in and stuck two pieces in the toaster. He washed the strawberries and grabbed a cutting board and a knife. He put some small storage containers on the island. "So, here's your first cooking lesson. Peanut butter sandwiches are better the next day if you toast the bread first."

"Why?"

"The bread doesn't get all soggy."

"Ooh. That's a good idea."

He put a cutting board in front of her and gave her a chopping tool that didn't have an actual knife blade edge. "I want you to cut the banana the way it goes on the sandwich." He grabbed a banana out of the fruit bowl and laid it on the island. He turned and grabbed the toast and a paper towel. "So, does it get one layer of peanut butter or two?"

"Two – peanut butter on each slice of bread. The bananas go in the middle."

"Got it. You work on the bananas." Kurt spread peanut butter on both slices of bread and slid them towards Sarah. "Put the bananas on how you like them."

She had cut the banana in half, then in half lengthwise. "Like this." She laid all four pieces in a row across the slice of bread. "Now, put the top on and cut it in half the same way the bananas are."

Kurt followed her directions and then put the two halves into a storage container.

"Yep, just like that." She cheered for him.

"Alright. Pick one of these bowls that will hold the amount of carrots you can eat for lunch."

"My hands are sticky."

"Go wash them again." He put her on the floor.

She climbed back up once her hands were clean again. She picked a small bowl and put carrots in it.

"Which one will hold the right amount of strawberries?"

She pointed.

"Alright. Do you want the strawberries whole or do you want me to cut them up somehow?"

"Just like they are. Not chopped up."

He filled the bowl with strawberries and put it on the island. "I'm going to go get a marker and come back. Just wait here. Do you want to eat a few strawberries?"

She nodded with a grin on her face. He put the rest of the strawberries he had washed on the paper towel for her to eat. He went upstairs and came right back. He wrote her name very neatly on the interior of the lunchbox.

"Now, you need to put all of the containers in the lunchbox and we'll need to make room for it in the refrigerator."

She looked at the containers and put them in so they all fit. "I'll be right back." She jumped down and ran upstairs. A couple of minutes later, she was dragging Puck behind her. "Look, Noah. Kurt got me a Barbie lunchbox and we packed a lunch for school tomorrow. I picked a peanut butter and banana sandwich and strawberries and carrots. Am I still supposed to get a milk at school?"

"Do you want one?" Kurt asked.

"Umm. What else will I drink?"

"Get one tomorrow and we'll talk to Carole about all of us going to Sam's Club and you picking drinks and food for your lunchbox."

"Okay. Isn't it cool, Noah?" She picked it up off the island and handed it to him.

"It sure is, Squirt. Why don't I clean this stuff up, while Kurt puts the extra food away? You run upstairs and start the bathwater. I'll be up in a few minutes to put your hair up."

"Okay." She put the lunchbox back on the island and skipped to the stairs and ran up them.

"You just made one of her all-time dreams come true. I'm sure you didn't know, but you did. In 1st grade and then again before 2nd grade she asked if she could have a cool lunchbox and NOT eat the school lunch. She went to HeadStart for kindergarten and everyone ate the school lunch there, but once she saw some of the other kids have lunchboxes with good food in it, she wanted one too, but since we're on free lunches and food stamps, I could never afford to pack food. You have made her a very, very happy little girl."

"Well, I'm glad she's happy. If I had known it was such a big deal, I would have let you give it to her. I just knew that she wouldn't get free lunches anymore with my parents being her guardians, and I knew Carole would send her lunches rather than make her eat cafeteria food. So, I picked out the cutest lunchbox at Goodwill yesterday when we went."

"Look, I'm not upset. I'm glad she's happy. I know you weren't trying to steal my thunder or something. You're not that kind of guy. You just want to make her happy and bought her something she needed that she would also like. And you didn't go spend $20 on it."

"It was $1.99. She saw the Goodwill bag."

"And I appreciate that Carole didn't take her to some expensive store and spend $150 buying her clothes. I don't feel like you two are trying to buy your way into her heart. She's used to shopping at Goodwill. I know those sandals Carole got her are the pricey ones, but now she won't need any other shoes all summer, so it's a good deal because those will hold up until next October or November, depending on how early it gets too cold to wear them with socks."

"That's why I showed them to Carole. I figured one $35 pair of shoes to wear with everything for 7 months seemed reasonable. Those things can go in the washing machine or be hosed down." Kurt went into the laundry room to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

Puck followed him and kept talking. "I like that. She can wear them and get them filthy and I'll hose them down and they'll be good to go. Now, what IS your fault is that she has found out about going out to eat. She loves food as you have seen. And now, she likes eating in restaurants and wants real cooking lessons." He laughed. "You and Sebastian can have the honor of teaching her how to make fancy restaurant food."

Kurt went back into the kitchen and rearranged stuff in the fridge to make room for the lunchbox. He grabbed the carrots and strawberries and put them back. "We'll see what we can do. From what I've seen, we don't have a free weekend until school gets out. Between Sebastian's lacrosse games, Nationals for Glee and Cheerios, camping, Prom, and I can't even remember what else. We'll have to have cooking lessons this summer."

Puck loaded stuff in the dishwasher. "That reminds me that I need to go to her new school and pick up the form to put her in summer camp there. That way she'll meet kids she'll be going to school with next year."

"And it will be closer for one of us to drop her off and pick her up."

"I don't know where those containers go. Show me so I know for next time."

Kurt opened one of the lower cabinets and showed him. He picked the empty ones up and put them back. "Be sure to tell her to bring the containers back, just in case she doesn't know what to do with them."

"I don't think she'd toss them, but I'll tell her. I gotta get back up there or her bathwater will be cold."

Kurt headed up the stairs as well.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I understand that you can't do the gymnastics at all. But you can dance and sing and fly?" Coach Sue asked.

"Yes."

"We leave Thursday evening after school. You and Sebastian can return Saturday. What time does he need to be back by?"

"2:00 in case the flight is delayed since the game starts at 4:30 and we have to get back to Dalton from the airport."

"Done. You and he will room together – no one else. You are free to leave when you wake up Saturday morning, so long as you're together. You'll be responsible for being at the airport on time to fly back."

"That's fine. He and I have traveled by ourselves to Washington, DC. We flew, and took public buses and the subway all around DC for nearly a week. We aren't children."

"I'll have a t-shirt for him to wear. I'll give it to you at practice this week. What size?"

"Medium or Large. It just depends on how you want it to fit him."

"Got it. He can wear a pair of the Cheerios track pants." She stood up and opened a cabinet and pulled out a pair of track pants. "Have him try these. If they don't fit, bring them back."

Kurt took them from her. "Thank you."

She nodded.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt put the track pants in his locker on his way to the choir room. He was a few minutes late to Glee since he had been to see Coach Sue right after school. He walked in to find all of the new girls' dresses were being unboxed and hung up.

"Aren't we rehearsing?"

"Yeah. We just wanted to get these out of the box to keep them from wrinkling any worse. The turquoise and salmon dresses look really good with the others. Your shirt is on the piano. Finn went to put his on so I can make sure it fits right. Go try yours. You can go in closet over there if you want, instead of going to the bathroom."

Kurt grabbed his shirt and went in the closet. It was close quarters, but better than the guys' bathroom any day. He stepped out to show Tina.

"Turn." She looked at the back. "Yours needs darts in the back. Can you take it home and fix it?"

"Sure."

"I'll have Sam put his on so I can see how it should fit."

Finn came in the room with his on. She had him turn as well.

"Can you do Finn's too?"

"Sure."

"Finn, just take it off. Kurt's going to tailor yours himself."

"Got it. I'll be right back."

Mr. Schue walked in. "Alright everyone. Let's get the costumes hung up quickly, and then we're moving to the auditorium to practice 'True Colors'. Where's Finn?"

"He'll be right back." Tina answered.

Kurt went in the closet and changed back. Finn came back a few minutes later. Kurt folded up both shirts and put them back in the packaging to take home with him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Alright. Let's do it again. Pay close attention to your movements. You're not in sync."

They ran through the piece two more times.

"Listen up. You're still out of sync. I'm not sure what to do about it right now. For now, everyone just get in position for the beginning of the song. We're going to run the vocals twice and then you can leave, except Rachel needs to stay to try her dress on with Tina."

Kurt stopped to mention to Mr. Schue how the video self-feedback had helped the Cheerios and left it up to him as to whether he'd try it or not.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt spent his week hustling to learn the whole song that he, Santana, and Brittany would be performing at Nationals. They worked on it for an hour every afternoon after Glee rehearsal. He skipped Glee on Tuesday to spend an hour working on the flying routine for Nationals. He was surprised and pleased to find that it was the same routine that he had done for Regionals. The changes to the routine were in what the girls were doing during the gymnastics routine on the floor.

Rachel approached him at his locker on Wednesday before Glee, despite the fact that she knew he had no interest in talking to her. She had overheard Tina and Brittany talking and she implored him not to audition with the song he wanted to sing. She tried to convince him that he shouldn't take chances. He didn't listen. He had rehearsed his chosen song during lunch every day that week. He was ready. He already knew where he was going to college. Making a risky song choice was the fun part of this audition.

By Friday morning, the Cheerios' routine looked passable, but nowhere near winning level. Coach Sue scheduled added rehearsals everyday the following week, starting a half hour earlier in the mornings and a second rehearsal for an hour after Glee.

Kurt did his best to pay attention in his morning classes. He was excused from his classes after lunch until after the audition was over. Brittany, Santana, and Tina met him in he auditorium right after lunch. They ran through the song one last time.

Kurt had kept the song a secret from Sebastian, telling him that he wanted him to be surprised when he saw Kurt perform it. Kurt had asked Lauren to sneak into the auditorium and set up a camera to record his audition. He gave her an SD card and she gave him the remote to start the recording before he walked out onto the stage.

Sebastian arrived in time to find his seat in the auditorium before Madame Tibideaux walked in and took her place.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Rachel pulled Kurt out to the wings of the stage.

"Throat coat? Just to avoid last minute irritation," she offered.

"Hit me."

"So, you know how they say 'knowledge is power'?"

"Mm hmm."

"Okay, well I got last minute intel about our NYADA adjudicator, and well, I don't want to make you anymore nervous than you already are."

"Now, you have to tell me."

"It's Carmen Tibideaux."

Kurt couldn't hide the shock and fear on his face. "What? She's one of NYADA's more famous and infamous alums."

"She's the new dean and she's going around the country to pick out her own inaugural class."

Kurt recounted a few frightening stories of Madame Tibideaux's wrath. Then he heard his named called solemnly.

"Kurt Hummel."

Kurt pressed the button on the remote and laid it on the shelf by the curtains. He and his swans stepped out on stage to their starting locations. "My name is Kurt Hummel and I will be performing 'Not the Boy Next Door' from the Peter Allen biomusical _The Boy from Oz_.

Kurt's performance was spectacular. He hit every note, made every mark, and moved flawlessly in the gold lamé pants that were iconic for the song. His last note soared.

Madame Tibideaux's face remained politely stoic throughout the performance and afterward, but her response afterward was quite positive. "You know Hugh Jackman won a Tony for playing Peter Allen."

Kurt nodded.

She continued, "Hugh trained with me the summer I was in residence at the Sydney Opera House and I'm certain that he would have been as impressed with what you did with that song as I am." She smiled. "A bold choice, young man. I congratulate you for taking such a risk today."

Kurt thanked her, turned and blew kisses to his swans, bowed, and left the stage.

Finn was backstage and handed Rachel a bouquet of flowers and asked her if she was nervous.

"Oddly enough, not at all. I'm ready."

Kurt stood in the wings momentarily and instead of shutting the recording off, he decided to let the camera continue to record. He exited the stage area and went up to one of the overlooks to watch Rachel where she couldn't see him.

"Rachel Berry."

Rachel moved to the center of the stage. "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry and I'll be singing 'Don't Rain on my Parade' from my favorite musical _Funny Girl_."

Rachel began to sing, but after a few lines, she repeated a phrase and stopped singing. She put her hands up to her face, "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry. Please just let me start over one more time. I'm sorry."

Rachel started over, but this time, she didn't even make it through two full lines before she flubbed the words again. "I'm sorry. I don't know. I know this song backwards. I know this. I can start it over one more time."

Madame Tibideaux interrupted Rachel's rambling with a resounding, "NO."

"Excuse me?" She couldn't believe her ears.

"You get eight bars. I gave you sixteen. Do you know what happens when you forget the words on Broadway? They give the job to your understudy. I'm very sorry. This audition is over." Madame Tibideaux put the book she was taking notes back in her bag and left the auditorium resolutely, while Rachel stood on the stage crying and pleading for another chance.

Kurt was speechless. Rachel had choked. What was she going to do? He waited until he was sure that Madame Tibideaux was not in the auditorium and Rachel, Finn, and Mr. Schuester were gone, and he moved back to the wings of the stage and pressed stop on the remote. He walked into the auditorium and over to the video camera to make sure that it was off and removed his SD card and fastened the remote to the camera.

He walked over to where Sebastian was sitting. When Kurt got closer, Sebastian stood up. He opened his arms and wrapped Kurt up and whispered in his ear, "Those pants are killing me. I need a cold shower desperately."

Kurt whispered in his ear, "I have a better idea. Follow me." Kurt led him to the guys' dressing room. He put a chair in front of the door and sat down on it to keep anyone from being able to open the door. He spoke quietly, "You'll have to keep quiet though." Kurt reached for the light and turned it off. He didn't want to take any risks of someone creating a sex tape from any potential surveillance camera in the room.

Kurt unzipped Sebastian's pants.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was sitting in the chair in front of the door because they had switched positions before turning the lights back on.

"So, you liked my audition?"

"Oh, my God. You were so hot. That was amazing. If she doesn't offer you a spot, she's nuts."

Kurt started undressing while Sebastian was talking.

"You have to keep those pants though. I'm thinking a reprise of 'Fever' starting with that outfit. But I can't think about it now because I will be right back where I was when we came in here."

Kurt laughed. "I can fix that… again…" He slid the lamé pants off and put on some briefs. Nothing was visible because he was wearing a shirt.

"Oh, God. No underwear?"

"Dance thong. Slipped it off with the pants."

Sebastian moved to adjust himself.

Kurt's eyes flashed as he smiled and walked over to the light switch and flipped it off again.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt came out of the small, attached bathroom a few minutes after he went in. He rinsed his mouth, but fortunately, he still had a few of the Altoids Sebastian had bought him back in December. He popped one in his mouth.

He finished getting dressed. He put his costume back in the garment bag.

"So, are you ready to go watch Mercedes, Santana, and Puck get their disco on?"

"Disco?"

"They competed for a replica of John Travolta's white suit in _Saturday Night Fever_."

"What does that have to do with preparing for Nationals?"

"Absolutely nothing, but it's Friday and we don't rehearse for Nationals on Fridays."

"This school is very confusing."

"I agree. Miss Pillsbury and Mr. Schue were showing Finn college brochures this past week. There are some small community colleges that do rolling enrollment, where you can apply up until classes start each semester, but those aren't the types of places they were showing him. It's a little late. This whole week was trying to help some of the Glee Club members figure out what path they want to pursue in the future. If Mr. Schue wanted to help, he should have had this lesson at some point during the first month of classes in the fall, not when there's about a month left of school."

"So they competed how?"

"Singing and dancing."

"Alright, let's go watch."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

All three contestants entered the choir room wearing the white suits. Mr. Schue and Coach Sue pulled in racks that had white suits for everyone to put on. The girls took their rack to the dance studio and the guys took their rack to the auditorium and changed backstage.

About 10 minutes later, everyone got on stage and the three winners sang lead on "Stayin' Alive." Sebastian sat in the audience and watched. He barely looked anywhere except straight at Kurt. When they finished, Kurt came down and sat on his lap. "So, what did you think?"

Sebastian pulled Kurt toward him just enough to speak directly into his ear. "Your hips are all I could focus on. Who needs porn or sex tapes, which is what I heard people talking about in the halls on the way in here. You're fully dressed and God, I need a cold shower for sure this time."

Kurt looked around and saw that everyone else had headed back to change. He leaned into Sebastian and kissed him. Just as they were breaking apart for air, he heard, "It seems that someone has managed to melt the ice queen." He looked up – Santana of course. He leaned back into Sebastian and resumed kissing him. Santana wolf whistled. Kurt ignored her.

When they broke apart for air again, Sebastian put his hand on Kurt's chest and whispered. "I love you, but if we don't stop, I'm going to need new clothes to wear to walk out this school. Let's go home and resume this there."

Kurt nodded and got up. He headed back to change again. Everyone had taken their costume with them, so Kurt took his as well. Sebastian waited in his seat for Kurt to come back. Once he did, they headed back to the choir room. When he got there, most everyone had left.

"Mr. Schue said the costumes are ours to keep. A gift from Coach Sue," Tina said. "I will never understand her."

"I think that might be the actual logic behind her behavior – keep everyone off balance by never behaving predictably."

"Well, it works. See ya. Bye, Sebastian."

"Bye, Tina."

"I have an hour of Cheerios practice. I can't believe I almost forgot. You can go home if you want."

"Nope. Sam texted and said that he moved my stuff to the Navigator and took the car to the shop."

"Alright then, to the gym."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian drove them back home. Kurt was so exhausted that he had left his uniform on after practice. They greeted Carole on their way upstairs. He stopped long enough to lock the door behind them and began to strip all the way to the shower. Sebastian was about two minutes behind because he had to stop and free himself from his suitcase, his satchel, and the stack of things he had carried up for Kurt.

Sebastian used his soaped up hands to give Kurt a massage in the shower, which also consisted of a lot of gentle kisses. Once they had finished, they slid under the covers for a nap. Kurt flopped over onto Sebastian and used him as a body pillow and wrapped himself around him in any way he could, causing Sebastian to chuckle and pull Kurt close and hold him tight.

During their hour nap, Sebastian lay very still as Kurt slept. He smiled as he lay there with his eyes closed thinking about his new life and Kurt and what they had planned. Kurt's phone alarm went off and he stirred, but just enough to double-down on the snuggle. Sebastian kissed the top of his head.

"Feeling better?"

"I always feel better when I get to sleep with you." He wiggled up enough to be able to kiss Sebastian. "I love you." He laid his head back down and started tracing patterns on Sebastian's chest.

"I love you too. I'm glad you can relax with me. I never knew I would like being someone's pillow so much."

Kurt laughed. "I never knew I would either. I like it when you sleep on me too."

"So, it's a little past 6:30 and dinner will be in a little less than an hour."

"I think I'm ready for what you wanted to come home and do before I remembered I had to go practice again."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "Oh, really? You're feeling that energetic?"

"Definitely." He moved and got on his hands and knees and straddled Sebastian and then propped on his elbows and started kissing Sebastian's neck.

Sebastian started mumbling in French.

"_That good?" _

"_Always."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After a second shower, both of them put their underwear on. Kurt handed Sebastian the t-shirt and track pants to try on.

"They fit. They're baggier than yours, but I'm assuming that was the goal. To make me look more like an adult staff member than one of the male cheerleaders."

"Probably. The back of the shirt says STAFF and so does the small logo on the front, so hopefully that's convincing enough. Wearing your Vans will set you apart from the cheerleaders too. We all wear all white cheer sneakers."

Sebastian took the t-shirt and track pants back off and tossed them into the laundry. Kurt grabbed up the pieces of his uniform from the floor and tossed them in too. He grabbed the laundry basket and put it on the bed to sort. Sebastian went back into the closet to put some clothes on.

"Are we going anywhere or is anyone coming over tonight?"

"Not that I know of."

"So, I could just put my pajamas on and we could go down and wash our clothes?"

"That's a good idea. If anyone says anything about not eating dinner in our pajamas, we'll change." Kurt grabbed two pairs of pajama pants out of his drawer and tossed one to Sebastian. He opened another drawer and grabbed two work t-shirts and tossed Sebastian one. "Did you bring anything with you that needs washed?"

Sebastian put his suitcase up on the bed and opened it. He pulled out the laundry bag and opened it and dumped it on the bed to add it to the stuff they were sorting. He took the other things out and stacked them neatly on the bed. He zipped the suitcase back up and slipped it under the bed to get it out of the way.

"So, we need to pick out what we're taking and pack it. I'd say we just sleep in our jeans and pack one outfit and a hoodie. We'll wear our boots. We just need to pack light because the cargo area of the Nav is already pretty full with the tent and the other stuff we've already loaded. And all of the seats will be filled with people."

Sebastian grabbed two pairs of jeans, two t-shirts, underwear and socks. Kurt did the same. They put the stuff in two stacks on the dresser – one to pack and one to wear in the morning.

"We're trying to not make this cost Sam's parents any extra money. That's why we've cooked extra every night this week and stored it in the freezer and refrigerator. It's all going in a cooler tomorrow morning, so we don't eat any of their food."

Sebastian had finished sorting the laundry. "I'll take this load down and get it started." He walked past Kurt and kissed him on the way out.

While he was gone, Kurt put their clothes in his Cheerio backpack since it was the smallest thing he could think of that would hold everything. They could add their basic toiletries in a ziplock bag in the front pocket the next morning on their way out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam pulled over to park in front of the house and before he even managed to get the Navigator in park, Sarah had her seatbelt off and was climbing over Kurt to get out the door. She ran up to the door and knocked. She had her Barbie in her hand ready to play after the 2½-hour drive.

Kurt followed right behind her and could hear Stacey yelling, "They're here!" as she unlocked and opened the front door. "Kurt! And Sarah! Come in. Come on Sarah, I'll show you my room." They ran off.

Mary had made it to the front just in time to see a blur of girls run the other direction. "She's been up for 2 hours."

Kurt laughed. "I'm going to head back out and help take stuff around back. Thanks for hosting this camp out. Sarah's super excited. She had never left Lima a few weeks ago and now she's been to Cincinnati and Westerville and now here. At least she's a good traveler."

Mary laughed. "That makes is so much easier."

Kurt turned and went outside to help the other three and to oversee the tent assembly since he was the only one who knew how to put it up.

An hour later, Kurt knocked on the back door and brought in their cooler. "I figured we'd keep this inside and keep any critters from being interested in our food."

"Good idea," Dwight said. "We have quite a few raccoons in the area and a cooler won't stop them from browsing and helping themselves. Did you get everything set up?" He sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yep. The tent's up. We won't put air in the mattress until tonight since we figured the kids will want to play around in there. I know I'm a wuss not sleeping on the ground with the kids, but I've got Nationals in 7 days and I can't risk throwing my back out. Coach Sue would not be happy."

"I remember hearing about her. She's not the type to cross."

Kurt laughed. "Definitely not." Kurt pushed the cooler into the corner to get it out of the way. "So, now that we've gotten all of our stuff out, I can pull the extra seats up and we can head out. We'll be back about 1:00 because we want to eat lunch here together. We've got some bottles of water and some packs of trail mix if someone starts in with the 'I'm hungry' routine."

"Good deal," Mary said. "I hope you all actually find some mushrooms. Dwight and I love them, but buying them is way out of our budget."

"I think they're out of everyone's budget. I saw them for $25 a pound last year."

"Sheesh. Well, maybe y'all will get lucky and find some," Dwight said.

Kurt walked through the living room and back out to the Navigator. He opened the hatch and put the third row seats up. He walked around the back and rounded everyone up. "Let's go!" He opened the back passenger door and moved the seat up so that the three kids could climb into the back row. Sam grabbed Stacey's booster from their parents' car and Kurt handed Sarah hers. They got them in place and got their seat belts on. "Does everyone have a bag?"

"I left mine in the tent," Stacey said.

Sam ran back to grab it. He handed it to her when he got back.

"Alright. Let's go see if we can find any mushrooms."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They hit pay dirt. In the two hours the 7 of them had looked, they had collected over three pounds of morels. They hiked back to where they had parked. The teens carefully searched the children for ticks and then helped each other check as well.

Sam said, "So, we drove past that small shop that had a sign offering $15 a pound to buy morels from people. You three need to decide whether you'd rather keep the mushrooms we found and eat them ourselves or whether you want to sell all or some of them."

"How much money do we get if we sell them?" Sarah asked.

Puck answered, "You three are smart. Figure it out."

Stevie started talking. "If we sell two pounds of them, we'd get $30 and there are three of us. So, we'd get $10 each."

"$10?" Sarah asked shocked. "That's a LOT of money."

"But they might taste really good," Stacey said. "They must taste really good if people want to buy them so bad."

"We could sell two pounds and keep the rest and we could at least taste them and know whether they're really good," Stevie said.

"That's a good idea," Sarah said. "I do want to taste them after we searched so hard to find them."

"Me too," Stacey said.

Stevie turned around. "We've decided. We want to sell two pounds and keep the rest to eat ourselves."

"Alright, then," Sam said. "We'll stop at that store and sell some of them."

Once they got to the store, Sam pulled over and took the three kids inside.

"How can I help the four of you?" The storeowner asked. He was in overalls and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows.

Stevie was still acting as their spokesperson. "We'd like to sell you two pounds of the mushrooms we found."

"Right this way, young sir." He led him to a scale. "You just put the amount on there you wanna sell and we'll get everything all squared up."

The other three teens entered the store, but stood back to let the kids have their fun. Kurt and Sebastian walked around looking at the stuff in the shop. There were some handmade items like soaps and there were baskets of different types of candies sold by the pound. Puck mostly just stood near the door. There were a few other customers looking around as well.

Sarah, Stacey, and Stevie slowly put mushrooms on the scale until Sam said to stop.

"That's two pounds."

They tied their bags shut and kept the rest.

"Alrighty, then. Step this way and I'll settle our account." He stepped to the register and pulled out three $10 bills. "$10 for you. $10 for you. And $10 for you. Thank you very much for stoppin' by. If y'all find more and wanna sell 'em, please come back."

"We will," Sarah said. She turned around and walked over to Puck. "Noah, can you put my $10 in your wallet to keep it safe?"

"Sure, Squirt." He pulled his wallet out and she stuck the $10 bill in.

Stevie and Stacey approached Sam and handed him their money.

"Just 'til we get home and then you can give it back, okay?" Stacey asked.

"Just 'til we get home." He smiled at her.

Sarah looked back at the man and said, "Thank you!"

"Thank you, missy."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam noticed that the same car had been following them for quite a while, which was unusual, but he didn't say anything. He turned off the highway and the car continued to follow them. He made several turns until he was parked back in front of his parents' house.

Before they managed to get out, there was an officer approaching Sam's window. Sam rolled the window down.

"License and registration, please."

"Sure, Officer." Sam pointed to the glove box.

Puck opened it. Sam leaned over and pulled out a little plastic sleeve and handed it to the officer. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and gave the officer his license.

"So, you're from Ohio. And the others with you?"

"We all live together in Ohio, except the two blond children. They live here in this house. They're my little brother and sister. My parents live here in this house. You're welcome to go talk to them if there's a problem."

"Y'all stay here. I'll be back."

The officer walked up and knocked on the door. Mary opened it and called for Dwight. They stepped out onto the porch. The officer came back and asked for the four teens to get out of the vehicle, telling the children to remain inside.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Sam asked.

"I'd like to see all of y'all's IDs."

All of the teens reached for their wallets and pulled them out. They all handed the officer their driver's licenses. Puck handed Sarah's ID to him as well.

"So, the dark-haired child is your sister?" The officer directed the question to Puck.

"Yes, officer. Kurt's dad and stepmom are her guardians. I live with them as well. My mother has a warrant out for her arrest for neglect and abandonment. He can't obtain legal guardianship for me because I'm already 18, sir. But he's letting me live there with my sister."

"I see. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Evans assured me that they had given Sam permission to take the kids out to the woods."

"I'm still confused, sir. What was the reason that you were following us?" Kurt asked.

"Someone called in and found it suspicious that four young men had taken three little kids into a shop to sell the mushrooms y'all found. I guess they thought maybe y'all had kidnapped the kids or something? There's all that stuff on the news these days about kids being trafficked."

"So, we're all good now. No problems?"

"It will be fine as soon as I run these licenses to make sure that none of y'all have warrants out on you."

"Alright. Can we let the kids out yet? They're probably wondering what's going on."

"Sure. Mr. and Mrs. Evans can take 'em inside or 'round back. You four can wait here out front."

Dwight and Mary went out to the Navigator and got the kids and took them around to the backyard to play.

Puck and Sam stood around waiting in the yard. Kurt and Sebastian sat down on the porch and leaned back against the house, knees pulled up and intertwined hands between them. A few minutes later, the officer came walking back toward the house.

"Sorry for the inconvenience. Nosy people 'round here stick their noses in places they don't belong. If I can speak off the record here, I'd wager a week's paycheck it's because you two are gay," pointing between Kurt and Sebastian. "I don't care one way or the other. But there's lots of prejudice around here. If you two were holdin' hands out in public, someone probably got their quills turned the wrong direction and decided that you two were bad news and that you were doin' something' bad to those kids. Stupid people. Anyhoo, I'm sorry for botherin' ya. That ID for your sister was a good idea. Y'all enjoy your visit here."

He handed them back their licenses, Sarah's ID, and the insurance card.

"Thank you, Officer," Sam said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Where's Kurt and Sebastian?" Sarah asked when Sam and Puck came in the tent.

"Oh, they're inside. We're going to eat in a little bit."

"No one's in trouble, right?" Stevie asked.

"Nope, no trouble," Sam answered cheerfully. "Just a little mix up. It's all straightened out now."

"Oh good," Stacey said. "Did you see that Daddy got a fire pit for us to use tonight?"

"I didn't. Show me," Sam responded.

The three kids opened the tent and led Sam and Puck over to a portable fire pit.

"Jimmy brought it over while we were gone hunting mushrooms," Stevie said.

"That will be fun. We brought graham crackers and chocolate bars and marshmallows," Sam said.

"S'MORES!" All three kids cheered.

"S'mores is right," Puck said, high fiving Stevie.

"Let's go get the sticks we picked up while hunting mushrooms," Puck said. "We need to get them broken into the right length to fit inside the fire pit base. They can't hang over the outside edge."

Sam added, "And we can pick the best ones and whittle them into hot dog and marshmallow roasting sticks."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian had asked Mary if they could sit in the kids' room for just a few minutes before they started prepping everyone's lunch, which she readily agreed to. They shut the door and sat on the floor, leaned against the bunk beds, and just held hands for a few minutes.

Sebastian had been shocked by what the officer had said to them and that's why Kurt had led him to the bedroom to just sit for a few minutes.

"You're not even fazed by it."

"I am deeply hurt by it. I think that I'm just more used to it. It upsets you in a more reactive way because it's new to you. After things like this happen so many times, it's not that it doesn't anger me, it's just that the anger is different I guess. It becomes more the neighbor's barking dog I guess. When the neighbor gets a new dog that barks a lot and is super annoying, but after a while you get to where you just tune the barking out. It's no less loud than it was. It's just not at the top of your list of things to be upset by anymore."

"But it's so wrong."

"It is. A lot of things are wrong and unfair. We've both had plenty of life experience with unfairness – just different types. But we have each other now. And I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Kurt stood up and pulled Sebastian to standing. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him. "Some people are awful, which is an unfortunate fact of life. Let's go wash our hands and prep lunch for 7 awesome people and have fun."

Sebastian leaned back in and they kissed a few more times. "Lead the way." He spun Kurt around and put his hands on his hips like they were doing a conga line.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Fifteen minutes and a lot of hand washing later, everyone was sitting around enjoying the lunch that Kurt and Sebastian had served. Once they had all finished eating, the three kids ran off and went back outside to play in the tent.

Sam started going through their plan. "So, the plans for the rest of the day are to let them play until 6:00, then we let them roast the hot dogs and marshmallows. We'll eat and head to the drive-in. You two will take the truck and we'll all go in the Navigator. Once we're there, people can pile in the truck bed and watch the movie. Afterwards, we'll come back and sleep in the tent, or at least some of us will." He laughed.

"Tomorrow morning, Sebastian and I will be going in to Cincinnati for my lessons. We'll be back by lunch."

"When do you all plan on heading back?" Mary asked.

Kurt answered. "I figured we'd need to leave around 6:00. We need to get Sarah home for her regular bedtime, so she'll get a good night's sleep after probably not sleeping much tonight. We all have school Monday. And Sebastian and I have to leave home early. He leaves a little after 6:00 and I have to be at school at 6:30 every morning this week for intensive Cheerio practices."

"That woman is crazy," Dwight said.

"We all agree with you. I have four days of crazy left, then Nationals are on Friday."

"When is the choir competition?" Mary asked.

Sam pulled his phone out and looked at the calendar. "Four weekends from now. May 12th. So we've got plenty of time to practice still."

"Well, we hope you do really well. Even making it there is a really big deal. I'm really proud of all of you."

They all nodded.

"We're going to head back outside and see what the three of them are up to."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They found the three kids sitting in the tent talking. They stopped to listen.

"So you live with Kurt and Sammy now?"

"Uh huh. And Sebastian too."

"You're lucky," Stacey said. "Kurt and Sammy are lots of fun to play with. Is Sebastian fun too?"

"He's super nice, but not as silly as Sammy. He's like me and Noah. He needed a new family too."

"Oh," Stacey said. "That's kinda sad."

"I know. But he's really nice to me and Noah and Kurt. He's from France and he speaks French. It's cool. And he plays lacrosse."

"What's lacrosse?" Stevie asked.

"It's a sport. Kind of like, well, they use balls that look kind of like baseballs. And they have sticks that have small nets on the ends. And they throw the balls using the sticks with the nets and they catch them in the nets too. And to score you have to throw the ball into a tiny goal that looks like a soccer goal, but much smaller."

"Oh. It sounds strange," Stevie said.

"It goes really fast. Like soccer."

"Okay."

"Sebastian goes to a different school than Sammy and Noah and Kurt. It's a long drive from our house. Kurt says he went to school there last year."

"I remember him going to school there. He wore a uniform like Sammy did when we lived in Tennessee," Stevie said.

"That's where his other boyfriend went to school. I didn't like him much," Stacey said. "Kurt wasn't as fun whenever he was around."

"Kurt's always fun," Sarah insisted. "How could he not be fun?"

"I don't know. He was just more quiet and his boyfriend talked a lot," Stacey said.

"He's not quiet when Sebastian's around. He's still just like normal Kurt."

Sam unzipped the tent and the other three followed him inside. "So, who's ready to play 20 Questions?"

"How about we play piggyback races instead?" Steve asked.

"Fine," Sam said, but you have to take turns riding me and Puck. Kurt and Sebastian are still playing sports and they can't twist their backs racing around carrying the three of you around. Two races each, then we play 20 Questions."

"Two races each, then we play wheelbarrow race?" Stevie asked.

"Deal."


	25. Chapter 25

The kids had a fabulous time roasting their hotdogs in the fire pit and no one even minded that they had somehow left the hot dog buns in Lima. Kurt and Sam had chopped a lot of raw vegetables and made dip, which everyone gladly ate. Sarah tried roasting some of her vegetables after she saw Kurt do it.

Mary and Kurt had fried up the morels and they all split them. They were a big hit. Everyone loved them, but no one was willing to admit that they were worth $25 a pound. Afterwards, they roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Once they had all finished, they cleaned everything up and put the fire out.

They grabbed hoodies and packed into the two vehicles and headed to the drive-in to watch _Toy Story 2_. The weekend before, they had shown the original _Toy Story_ and the following weekend would be _Toy Story 3_. It was a fun, vintage place that only charged $5 per carload to get in. So, all 9 of them got in for $10, which Kurt paid, claiming that it had been his idea.

All three kids had seen the movie before, but loved the whole idea of watching a movie outside on the huge screen. Going to movie theaters was something the three of them had never done. They had a good time playing on the playground below the screen before the movie started. Once the intro started, Mary and Dwight brought them back to the truck. Everyone, except Kurt and Sebastian, climbed into the bed of the truck.

They put the rear seats back down flat and sat in the cargo area with the back closed. Sebastian hadn't seen the _Toy Story_ movies yet, and Kurt didn't want to spoil it by him seeing the second first, so Kurt hung the speaker on the back window with the volume down very low, so they could still barely hear the movie. No one could see in because the back windows and cargo area had tinted windows. They figured that one run-in with prejudiced locals was enough for their trip, so they opted to stay out of sight during the movie. It also gave them the privacy to hold hands, talk, and kiss.

"When I called my dad before we ate, he told me that the inspector's report came today. The house passed. Whoever the last owner was bought the house and flipped it. He upgraded all of the electric, installed a new HVAC, redid the floors, sealed the concrete in the basement, put in the new appliances, and updated the bathroom. So, we're set to go."

Sebastian didn't say anything.

"Bas?"

"So, we're getting a house? The two of us?"

"Yes. We're getting a house."

"I know we went looking, and I know that the whole point was to find a place for us to live, but it still seemed so far down the road – like a long time from now. But it's not. It's now."

"Is that bad?"

"No, it's amazing. Astonishingly amazing. So, now what do we do next?"

"Well, we wait to see if the seller accepts our offer."

"Why would the seller reject it?"

"Oh, there's always a bit of negotiating I guess. Dad offered less than the asking price."

"Oh."

"Then the owner either accepts the price or counter-offers."

"I see. So, it's not quite ours yet."

"I think it is. This is pretty common. People ask more than they think they can get and people offer less and the seller accepts it because it is what they had hoped to get."

"Weird."

"I can't say that I completely get it either. But we should know in a few days whether the seller is accepting the offer."

"Then what happens?"

"Once the seller accepts, a lot of paperwork happens," Kurt laughed.

"I figured."

"Once the paperwork is all complete and ready to sign, we'll go to the closing in Cincinnati. And we'll find out the date we can take possession."

"What are we going to do with an empty house that we have to make payments on all summer? I thought we were going to live at home and work in the shop all summer and save up money. If we close soon, we'll be making payments on the house instead of saving money."

"Well, I've been talking to my dad about how it all works since he's been home. The first month's payment is part of the closing costs. So, our first payment will be in June. So, we'll have June and July that we wouldn't have paid rent for. But with an apartment, the deposit is the equivalent of the first and last month's rent and you get it back when you move out, if there's no damage. So, we would have to pay more for a deposit than we will to pay for June and July's mortgage payment. It's just that we won't eventually get that money back, but we're not out any more money this summer than we would have been renting an apartment."

"I see."

"With the house though, in four years, if we don't want to live in it anymore, we can sell it. If we rented that apartment we liked for four years, we would spend a little over $38k on rent. Dad is certain that we won't take a $38k loss on the house if we sell it in four years. Housing prices vary from year to year, but a $38k loss would be nearly a third of the value of the house, which is really not at all likely. So, we will spend less money on housing overall by buying. And we'll have a place of our own." He leaned toward Sebastian and kissed him.

"That makes sense mathematically. It just seems like an enormous thing. I've never even had a room to myself, except at Dalton, much less a whole house."

"Well, you won't have the house to yourself either. I'll be there."

He kissed Kurt. "Which makes it all the more unbelievable. I'm just going to need some time to process all of it. We were only there for about 30 minutes. I want to go back tomorrow. Let's email the realtor tonight and see if he'll meet us there again tomorrow and let us inside to look around by ourselves for a little bit."

"Okay. I'll do it now." Kurt sent off a quick email.

"If he doesn't check his business email on the weekend, then we'll just drive by and look from the outside."

"Turn sideways. I want to try something."

Sebastian turned. His back was to the side window of the cargo area, rather than against the back seat.

"Now, scoot forward." Kurt knelt to get out of the way. "Make a circle with your legs." Kurt moved forward and sat down in the space in the center and wrapped his legs and arms around Sebastian. "Now, scoot towards me a little."

"Mmm. A way to hug while sitting down. I like it." He wrapped his arms around Kurt's torso.

"Much easier to kiss this way." Kurt started kissing up Sebastian's neck.

He started mumbling in French.

Kurt smiled and moved to kissing down his jaw and then pressed his lips to Sebastian's and licked his way in. They kissed until they had to break for air. Kurt moved to kissing down the other side of Sebastian's neck.

"Do you have any idea what that makes me want to do?"

Kurt wiggled a little, pressing them closer together. "Mmm hmm. I'm certain that I do," he said as he licked the edge of Sebastian's ear. "Let's me see if I can find the wet wipes we put in the back seat for Sarah." Kurt climbed off Sebastian's lap and leaned over the seat and found the box. And sat right back down the way he had been. "Take your shirt off. We can do this if we can keep quiet."

"Okay."

They pulled their t-shirts off, and unzipped their pants.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

About 10 minutes before the movie was going to end, Sebastian made a trip to the trashcan near the concession stand and Kurt put all of the windows down and left the hatch open. He sat on the back edge with his feet dangling and waited for Sebastian to come back. Once he did, they put the third row seating back up, put the booster seats back in place, and put one of the backseats down so the kids could climb in.

The movie finished and Sam and Puck rustled the kids back over to the Navigator and they got everyone back where they belonged and headed back to the house.

By the time they arrived, the kids were all wound up again. "We're sleeping in the tent!" turned into a repetitive song sung by Sarah and Stacey.

"Let's get everyone in the house first," Kurt said.

Everyone headed inside.

"So, tonight there will be no long baths." Mary said. "There are lots of us and just one bathroom. So, it's five-minute showers for the teens and kids. Dwight and I will shower in the morning while all of you are in the tent sleeping."

"So, I think that Kurt should go first because he is the one that will oversee the sleeping arrangements in the tent," Dwight said.

Kurt stood and grabbed his backpack and headed to the bathroom. "Thank you."

Sebastian, Puck, and lastly Sam showered and left the three kids to shower under Mary's care.

"So, Kurt's already aired up the mattress and got their area ready to go." Puck said to Sam as he came in. "We've moved it all the way to the edge. He swept the tent out first. Now, we just need to put the blankets down for the kids and I'll put my sleeping bag on the edge and you can put the other sleeping bag there next to the air mattress."

"Got it." Sam grabbed the edge of the blanket and helped Puck get it laid out. They put the second one on top of it. Puck grabbed his sleeping bag and rolled it out along the edge of the tent and tossed the other one, which was actually Finn's, to Sam.

Sam rolled his out as well. "The other pillows are still in the house. I'll go grab them." Sam came back out and put all the pillows down for the kids, Puck and himself.

By then Stevie was unzipping the tent to get inside. Sam zipped it right back up after he came in. The girls came out together about 10 minutes later. Mary opened the tent and Sam zipped it back up.

"You three went to the bathroom, right?"

They all nodded.

"Aright, lay down," Puck said. "We'll cover you all up."

Once they were all lying down, Sam reached up and turned the lantern off. "If you need something, you three can wake me up and I'll take you inside, okay?"

"Okay, Sammy," Stacey said.

The giggling died down pretty quickly and the kids fell asleep much faster than Kurt had expected, but they had all gotten up really early and it had been a busy day. He put his phone in his pillow case so he'd feel it vibrate on the off chance that he slept later than 7:45 since he was planning on leaving at 8:15 to head into Cincinnati for his voice and acting lessons.

He had zipped the two sleeping bags that belonged to the Hummels together so he and Sebastian could snuggle up. They were lying facing each other. Kurt leaned forward and very quietly and gently kissed Sebastian and turned over to be the little spoon. Kurt held Sebastian's hand near the wrist and traced "I", a heart, and "U" on his palm and then pressed Sebastian's hand over his own heart and held it there gently. Sebastian slipped his hand out of Kurt's hold and slipped it up under Kurt's t-shirt and traced the same thing on his chest and pressed his hand against Kurt's heart again, but left his hand there – skin on skin.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

While Kurt was in his lessons, Sebastian spent the time reading up on the American home buying process. He was smiling when Kurt came back out to the Navigator after he was done.

"What's the smile for?" He asked as he put his seatbelt on and started the Navigator.

"I'm glad you're back and I'm happy that Mr. Branton is meeting us in 20 minutes to let us look around the house and that Dwight had a tape measure we could use. We'll measure all of the windows as quickly as possible. And I'll take pictures with my phone, and I'll write a number on each one. And I can write the measurements in my notebook."

"Good plan," Kurt said as he pulled out of the church lot and headed toward the house.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian looked through the photos he took and his notes. "So, 2 double windows, 8 single windows, 2 single short windows, one long door window, and one shorter window in the front door. And the triple window on the front foyer or whatever we're calling that room. That's a lot of curtains."

"It is, but I like a lot of light, so I want to do layers somehow. Either sheers with curtains that we pull back or blinds with sheers hanging over them."

"I think I like the idea of blinds with sheers because we can adjust how much light comes in with the blinds. It's not all or nothing."

"That's true. We'll look at blinds and see how much they'll cost. I don't dislike the color of the walls, so unless you really want them repainted, I'm for leaving them as is. We don't really know our style or anything yet and since it will take us time to furnish the place, we'll be able to paint the walls later pretty easily if we decide that we want to."

"I know you want to paint that cabinet."

"I do. I'm sorry that it bothers me so much, but it's a midnight blue-black and the kitchen cabinets are white with black marble countertops."

"It's fine. A gallon of paint isn't going to break the budget."

"And having some to touch up all that white trim will be good in the long run."

"It seems more real, but still like such a fantasy. I can't even call it a dream because I never dreamed anything like this."

"Honestly, me neither."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got back to the Evans' house about 1:30. They stepped in and started to help prepare lunch as soon as they got there. They had brought all of the fixings for tacos.

Mary warmed the meat and refried beans in skillets and the kids had put the toppings in bowls. Kurt and Sarah had made real Mexican rice with carrots in it that was warming up in the oven. Kurt put the tortillas in the oven and sat the hard shell corn tacos on the counter. As soon as the meat and beans were warm, Mary transferred them to a bowls and put them on the counter as well. Sam pulled out the rice and the flour tortillas and put them on the counter.

They let the three kids go first. Kurt insisted that Mary and Dwight go next because of their hospitality in hosting everyone for the weekend. The teens went last. Everyone enjoyed their make-you-own taco Mexican-style lunch.

Mary asked the three kids to stay inside and help clean up after lunch. The four teens headed outside to take down the tent and repack all of the stuff they brought back into the Navigator. Dwight had borrowed a croquet set from a family at their church and he set it up for the kids to play.

Sebastian spoke to Mary while the others played croquet. "Thanks for letting all of us come. I'd never done anything like this. It was a lot of fun."

"Kurt said you grew up in Paris, which I imagine is just about as opposite of rural Kentucky as you can get," she laughed.

"Pretty close, but it's more than that. Kurt never tells anyone about my past and I appreciate that. But I just wanted to tell you that you and Dwight are really cool. Sam, Stevie, and Stacey are all really lucky to have you two as parents. And don't say anything to contradict me, please. I mean it. I grew up in boarding school. In my 18 years, I've never met a happy family with two married parents. It's really amazing to see. What you give them is something that money can't buy."

"Thanks, Sebastian. You and Kurt are really good together. Sam says how respectful you are of Kurt and I see that. I only saw him with whatever his name was a few times, but whenever he was around, Kurt was very guarded, not like he was when it was just him and Sam. He's relaxed around you."

"Burt says the same thing." Sebastian smiled. "Burt's been really amazing. He let Sam move in, then me, and now Puck and Sarah."

"He's got a big heart. I think that might be the only thing he and Kurt have in common besides him teaching Kurt how to fix cars," she smiled.

"And now he's teaching me and Sam. Puck's probably next." He laughed.

"Hey, I heard my name and laughter. I'm not THAT bad at this game," Puck said as he walked towards them.

"No, I told Mary that Kurt's been teaching me and Sam to fix cars and that you're probably next."

"Hey, that wouldn't be bad. I'm pretty set on the HVAC thing though. But knowing how to do minor stuff could save a lot of money over the long haul. I'll have to get Kurt to teach me next."

Kurt walked up as he finished his sentence. "Teach you what, Puck? It's your turn by the way."

"Teach me to fix cars."

"Oh. Well, that's possible. Go take your turn."

Puck went back over to the playing area and took a swing with his mallet. Kurt followed him back and waited his turn.

"Are you and Kurt engaged? I noticed the matching rings."

"No. They're promise rings and the ring design means something personal to us. I wanted Kurt to have something that showed all of those losers he goes to school with that he has someone who loves him. And I portrayed myself in a certain way when I came here from Paris. My ring was my way of showing that I wasn't THAT guy. I'm not sure that makes sense out of context. But we feel like we're not independent enough to be engaged – but someday. And maybe one day, they'll legalize gay marriage in France and I'll have the money to take Kurt there and show him around Paris and we'll get married there."

She smiled at him. "That's sweet."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The teens served a chili dinner to everyone and made sure that everything they had brought with them was packed back up in the cargo area of the Navigator.

Sarah didn't want to leave Stacey. She clearly needed more play time with kids her age. They hugged a bunch of times and promised to call each other and talk. Puck finally wrangled her into the backseat and got her in her booster seat.

She chattered all the way back to Lima. Kurt was glad that she was so cheerful. Listening to a child fuss for 2½ hours would have taxed his ability to remain sane.

They made it back to Lima just in time for Sarah to pack her lunch, take a bath, and head to bed. And Kurt and Sebastian were both grateful that Carole took over those duties since they had the Navigator to unload and to get themselves ready for school the next day.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, what did you think of camping?"

"Well, it wasn't bad. I liked being around Sam's family. They're really cool. I told Mary that they were the first two married people with a family that I had ever been around – I mean that got married had kids and stayed married. Their kids are lucky."

"Sam's a good guy. He's just genuinely a nice person."

"So are his parents, it seems."

"They are. Are you ready for a shower? I wasn't a fan of my five-minute solitary shower last night." Kurt started undressing Sebastian.

"I'm ready."

They showered and made sure that they were ready to head out the next morning.

"You didn't finish your camping answer."

"Oh, yes. Sleeping on the air mattress was fine. I think we'll be fine using it in the back of the Navigator."

"So, we're on for going to Gatlinburg?"

"Definitely. I'm excited." He lay on his back offering himself as a body pillow.

Kurt scooted up and lay down on him. He gave him a quick kiss before he completely settled in. "I love you."

Sebastian wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close. "I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt kissed Sebastian's eyelids, then down his cheeks, and eventually on the lips.

"It can't be time to get up already," Sebastian groaned. He wrapped his leg over the top of Kurt's and slipped his hand down to Kurt's lower back and pulled him closer. "I want more snuggles and kisses."

"I set the alarm for 10 minutes early so you could have more kisses." He kissed Sebastian again.

"And if I want more than kisses?"

"Then we better head to the shower in a preemptive move because I have to leave for practice at 6:15 or it will be off with my head."

"She'd never hurt a hair on your head. She wants you to fly and sing and win her another national title."

"That's probably true, but she will make me run laps if I'm late, and I know you don't want me to have to do that."

"Shower it is." Sebastian popped up out of bed and headed straight into the bathroom.

Kurt laughed at his antics and followed him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt managed to walk into the gym with about one minute to spare and a huge smile on his face.

"Is he THAT good that you're smiling 20 minutes later?" Santana teased him.

"Absolutely," he said as he walked to the bleachers to put his stuff down.

She followed him. "Good for you."

They sat on the gym floor facing each other and stretched for a few minutes.

"Coach says he's coming with us."

"That's true."

"How did you really get hurt? I know you asked for the pain stuff after we first performed, but I'm 99% certain you didn't get hurt during the routine. I've watched the video several times and at no point did you seem to do anything that would have broken your wrist."

"I'll tell you, but you have to swear not to tell anyone. If anyone asks you for details, tell them to ask me personally if they want to know."

"Got it."

Kurt scooted up right next to her and detailed what happened to him where no one else could hear.

"Jackasses! Fucking jackasses."

"Shh! Keep it down."

"Alright." Coach Sue's voice came through the megaphone. "Places!"

Everyone moved to their starting positions for the dance portion. Kurt, Britt, and Santana put their face mics on.

"Everyone sit except Kurt, Santana, and Brittany. You will watch once, so you won't be tripping over your own feet to see what they're doing." She started the music and the three of them sang and danced. "That's it. You saw them. Get up and let's start it from the top."

After several run-throughs of the dance portion, Sue video recorded them and sent the recording out to everyone. "That's it for that part. Take five. Next up the cheer requirements portion."

Kurt was pleased to see that although she didn't sound sweet and cheerful, she had not returned to yelling insults at the girls.

Eventually, they were released to go to class. Kurt had brought clothes to change into, but she didn't release them early enough for him to change. He put his clothes in his locker and made a run for it to get to first period on time.

He spent his lunch eating and reading. He went right to the shop after the second Cheerios practice, and then straight home and got as much of his homework for the week done as he could. He ate dinner, went straight back upstairs to work more and go to bed early.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday evening, Kurt, Sam, and Puck were in the kitchen prepping dinner when they heard Carole on the front porch with Sarah. She came bounding in the house and stopped when she saw the guys in the kitchen.

"Noah!" Sarah flung herself into Noah's arms. "Aunt Carole, show him what we got."

Carol showed him a stack of books.

"Guess what!"

"What?"

"I got my own library card."

Carole pulled it out of her wallet and gave it to Sarah.

"See?"

"Awesome, Squirt. You have an ID, a library card, and $10. I think the next time Kurt takes you shopping, it's time to get you a wallet to put your important stuff in."

"Really? I'm big enough to get my OWN wallet?"

"Sure, Squirt, but you gotta take care of it and not lose it."

"I won't lose it."

"Did you do your homework when you were there?"

"I did."

"Excellent. I still have to do mine. You can sit and read those books on your bed while I do mine, okay?"

"Alright."

"Tell Aunt Carole thank you for taking you. Put those upstairs and come back down to eat."

"Thank you, Aunt Carole!" She ran up the stairs with her books before she could even hear a response.

The three teens started setting the table and moving the food to dining room to eat dinner.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When Kurt got home from the shop the next afternoon, Burt was waiting to talk to him in the living room.

"Have a seat, kiddo."

Kurt plopped in the oversize chair. "What's up, Dad?"

"I got a call from the realtor this afternoon and the seller accepted our offer. We can close one day next week."

Kurt didn't say anything. He just sat there with a blank look on his face.

"Kurt?"

Burt saying his name brought him back to the present.

"I thought you'd be excited."

"I am. I'm stunned. It's a big step, and yes, I'm excited. Did you call Sebastian already?"

"No. I figured I'd let you call him and tell him."

"I'll go do that, but can we do it in the evening on Wednesday, around 6:00? That way we could sign everything and still head on to Tennessee that evening like we had planned. That's the day that Sam, Sebastian and I are scheduled to got to UC to orientation and registration, remember."

"I do know that you said something. Let me work on it. I'll see what I can do. Maybe there's a title company that's open in the evenings since Cincinnati's such a big city."

"Just let me know, so we can plan accordingly. I have to go get everything packed and make sure that I have all of my homework for tomorrow and Friday done tonight so I can turn it in tomorrow since we're leaving for Florida tomorrow afternoon."

"We're going to watch you on TV Friday night."

"Don't remind me about the TV cameras. It's nerve wracking."

Burt laughed. "Get upstairs and get your stuff done and don't think about it."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Coach Sue had the Cheerios travel in their track pants and black McKinley gym class t-shirts, preventing any possible mishaps with their uniforms on the way there. Kurt grabbed an extra t-shirt from the stack for Sebastian to wear. He headed out to his Navigator and took off to Westerville while Coach Sue had the group load up the bus.

Sebastian was outside in his lacrosse sweats waiting for him and he jumped in the passenger seat and Kurt drove to the airport. Kurt parked a few spaces away from any other cars in the short-tem parking area at the airport and he had Sebastian scoot the passenger seat all the way up when he got out. They got in the backseat and Kurt gave him the track pants and the t-shirt to put on. Sebastian slipped off what he was wearing and Kurt folded them and put them over the seat into the cargo area. They managed to get in quite a few kisses in the process of the outfit change as well.

They climbed out and Sebastian grabbed the suitcase and they headed off to meet up with the rest of the squad. They checked their luggage and once they were through security. Coach Sue allowed them to wander around in groups of two or more with strict orders as to when to be in the boarding area.

Kurt and Sebastian left the group and just walked around together talking and holding hands. They stopped in a few stores and looked around, including a stop in a dressing room for some much needed kissing. They eventually just sat down on a bench together and talked more. They discussed their plans for Gatlinburg the next weekend and their first visit to the ocean.

Kurt phone beeped and they moved to the boarding area. Within a few minutes, the group started to board. The flight wasn't that long and Coach Sue had chosen a hotel with shuttle service to the airport, so once they had claimed their luggage, they met at the shuttle pick-up and they boarded the shuttle to the hotel.

Coach Sue collected the card keys for everyone and distributed them. The four other males in the group roomed together. The girls were divided into groups of four as well. They grabbed their luggage and headed to their rooms. Sue warned them all to stay in their rooms, to not order room service, and to actually sleep.

The competition was set to start at 10:00 and run until 5:00. The Final Five Showcase that would air on TV was set to start at 7:00. Coach Sue expected them all to arrive at 8:00am for breakfast and the morning workout she had planned for them.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian were finally in their room a little before 10:00. Kurt hung his uniform up immediately and pulled Sebastian's Cheerios t-shirt out of the suitcase and put it on a hanger too. Sebastian took the track pants off and laid them over the desk chair. Kurt folded up what the rest of what they had been wearing and put them at the bottom of the suitcase.

Kurt took their toiletries bag into the bathroom. Sebastian followed him and stood behind him at the sink. He ran his hands down Kurt's arms and kissed the back of his neck.

"You're stunning, you know. Absolutely beautiful."

Kurt turned and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. "I'm glad you think so."

"I'm so glad you didn't give up on me. I didn't give you any reason to care, but you did. And tomorrow is our 3-month anniversary. I love you." He leaned forward just enough to gently press his lips to Kurt's.

"I love you too. It's been a great three months." Kurt kissed him. "Let's move this to the shower."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Everyone was present at the required time and they were eating a "power breakfast" of boiled eggs, yogurt and orange juice. Kurt notice several of the girls watching the other guests using the large cast iron waffle maker with longing looks in their eyes. Kurt knew what they would be doing the next morning.

At 9:00, they left on a shuttle and headed to the stadium where the competition was being held. They filed in following Coach Sue. She signed everyone in and they were given lanyards to wear so that they could be in the Participants Only areas. No one challenged Sebastian's staff position as equipment manager and it was printed on his nametag.

They headed to the area where the teams were allowed to warm up and they went through the dance portion of the routine. After another 15 minutes of stretches, they moved out to the area where the teams waited to be called onto the field to perform. Sebastian had waited outside the room listening to music on his phone because Kurt wanted the performance to be a surprise for him. He walked with Kurt to the pre-performance area.

They had drawn the 3rd position, which set them to perform at 10:40. They had 20 minutes to wait. They couldn't see the group that was performing, but they could hear the crowd and the team's music. They continued to do small stretches to stay warmed up.

They were called to line up at 10:35 and headed out onto the field just as the previous group was filing off. Sebastian managed to move to the area of the field facing the performance floor and pulled his phone out to record the performance in case they didn't make it to the Final Five Showcase so that Burt and Carole could still watch Kurt perform.

The 20 members were in position and they were announced.

"The Cheerios from William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio!"

Everyone marched into their first formation. Once they had been through all of the required cheering moves, the music started. As soon as the music started, he knew what it was. The Troubletones had sung this song at Regionals. He knew the theme was "Inner Strength" and the song was a good fit.

It also made sense because 7 of the 15 girls already knew this song and Santana and Brittany sang lead on it. Kurt was singing the part Mercedes had sung. Kurt was in the sleeveless shirt like he had been at Regionals. The choreography the rest of the group looked a lot like what the Troubletones had done at Regionals mixed with gymnastics. Kurt, Brittany, and Santana's choreography was different and more complicated, but still fit in with the group's choreography. Kurt stood in the center and sometimes performed different moves from the two girls who had done a few handstands and walkovers during the parts when Kurt was singing.

When they finished, they got a standing ovation and a lot of cheering from the crowd. They filed off the performance floor and Sebastian moved back to intercept the group as they exited out of the stadium area.

Sue corralled them and said, "That was decent. All of the seniors who are already 18 can choose to go with Kurt, Sebastian, Santana, and Brittany back to the hotel. Everyone else will be staying here with me and watching the rest of the competition. Make up your minds now."

Kurt, and the other three stepped away from the group, giving anyone who wanted to go with them to join them. Quinn and Kendra joined them, along with two of the bases.

"Anyone else?"

"Becky spoke up. I don't think anyone else is already 18, Coach."

"Right, then. Stay in the hotel, nowhere else. I will know if you leave. I will send out a group text if we make it into the top five. I'll expect everyone back here at 6:00 if we make it. You'll need to warm up and stretch again to perform in the Showcase."

"Yes, Coach," was the answer from the Cheerios that were leaving the stadium.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian stopped at the front desk when they got back to the hotel. Kurt had done his research and found a tour bus that stopped at the hotel every two hours and drove to the beach. The hotel had told him that he could only buy the tickets in person. They bought two tickets for the sunrise trip the next morning, which meant getting up even earlier than Kurt's internal alarm clock, but they weren't going to miss their chance to see a beach sunrise when they were just 30 minutes from the beach.

After they bought their tickets, they headed up to their hotel room. Kurt opened the door and they went inside.

"I packed food for us since I knew we wouldn't want to spend $30 on lunch here in the hotel. It's just a peanut butter sandwich, some carrots, and dried fruit."

"Don't say 'just'. You work hard to make all of these things work for us. It's not 'just' anything. It's something you planned ahead and worked hard on." He wrapped his arms around Kurt.

Kurt relaxed and leaned into Sebastian. "I'll try. I brought us a treat for tonight."

"I love your treats. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Let's take these clothes off. I don't want to accidentally get anything on them while we're eating or get them all wrinkled while we sit around."

Kurt stepped back and undressed and put his uniform back on the hangers. Sebastian hung his clothes up too just to get it out of the way. Kurt grabbed his pajama pants and put them on after he slipped the dance belt off. He noticed that Sebastian didn't look pleased with his choice. "I can put something else on."

"I was thinking no clothes."

Kurt laughed. "Oh, well, maybe later. I want to be able to answer the door if someone knocks."

"Fair point. I'll put my pajama pants on too. At least for now." He waggled his eyebrows.

Kurt laughed at him again. He pushed Sebastian back onto the bed as soon as he had just barely gotten the pajama pants pulled up.

"Hey!"

Kurt startled tickling him.

Sebastian got the upper hand and flipped them and started tickling Kurt instead, but just briefly. He switched to caressing him and kissing him. "You are so much fun!" He started lick-tickling him on his ribs. He figured it would cause the same laughter and be even more fun.

Kurt was flailing around and laughing hysterically. Sebastian let up on the tickling before Kurt got aggravated and instead he started licking him on his neck and ears following by wet kisses.

"No hickeys."

"I know. I won't put any anywhere that Sue can see." He went back to kissing his neck. He kissed down his jaw and moved to kissing him on the lips, but instead of pushing for an intense make-out session, he kissed him slowly and deeply. Kisses full of love and passion, but not demanding. He moved to lie on his side and rotated Kurt to face him and positioned them so they were lying face to face kissing gently. "I love you. You were fantastic out there today."

"Thank you. I'm excited to go to the beach tomorrow."

"Me too."

They were still kissing gently now and then. Kurt ran his hand along Sebastian's arm and he shivered.

"Do you want to put on a shirt or get under the covers?"

"Not yet. We still need to eat what you packed first."

"Then let's sit up and eat." Kurt gave him a kiss and sat up. He got up and opened the suitcase and pulled out the large food storage container that he had packed the food in using paper towels for padding. He opened it and put it on the bed between them.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they had finished eating, Sebastian was sitting on the end of the bed near where Kurt was standing. "I need to tell you something."

"That sounds ominous." Kurt stopped messing with the stuff in the suitcase and turned around.

"It sort of is, but it's nothing about the two of us."

"Alright." He turned back around and started rearranging stuff again.

"The council finally chose our third song for Nationals yesterday."

"Okay…"

"The one that Blaine will be singing lead on. I'm breaking our 'no set list information sharing' rule. They picked 'Teenage Dream'."

"Oh." Kurt stopped and turned back around. He took the couple of steps it took to get to the bed and sat down on the edge and sat next to Sebastian.

"I'm guessing that it's one of the songs that he submitted for himself," Sebastian said.

"He'll be great on the lead for that song. It's a perfect choice. I'm sure that's why the council chose it. The shuffle step dance that goes with it isn't hard and since you only have a few weeks left to rehearse, I can see why that song would be really appealing as a choice. The arrangement is already complete and about half the group is still there, so you can get started on it right away and it won't take long to learn. I'm guessing that one of your other two songs has the complicated dance, with potential gymnastics moves, that you were all alluding to back at Sectionals."

"Yes. We also found out that we can use one song that we've used in competition this season. So, our other song is a repeat. The Warblers have never made it this far in competition and the workload at Dalton is heavy and a bunch of us are taking AP classes and the exams are during the two weeks before Nationals. So, the council opted to reuse one of our songs and to go with something that Blaine does well so that we can focus on our one new song."

"That makes sense. I won't tell anyone else. And I'll prepare myself for having to hear him sing that song. I'm glad you told me." He stood back up and went back to what he was doing.

Sebastian could see his face in the reflection of the mirror. He could see that he was fighting back tears. He got up and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. "Hey, I don't want to participate in that song. I don't want to get thrown out of the group, but I'm going to tell the council that I'm not comfortable singing it. Not every member of a group has to sing every song and I don't want to sing that one. It's the last one on our set list. Since we haven't really started working on it, I don't see a problem with me stepping off into the wings at the lights-out before the song starts."

"It's just a song."

"I know. It's a song that I don't want to sing." He let go of Kurt's waist, took his hand, and led him back over to the bed.

"It just feels like he chose THAT song to try to knock the wind out of me and lower our chances of winning. He doesn't know who is singing lead, but he knows I had the duet at Sectionals and then a solo at Regionals. I'm betting he thinks I have a lead again at Nationals."

"You said that he's the king of oblivious though. So, maybe he just chose his favorite song that the Warblers had done with him on lead that never got used in competition. Maybe he just picked the one he thought showed off his lead singer abilities the best."

"That could be too. He definitely has the flirt level turned up to 11 in that one. Of the songs I can think of that the Warblers worked on last year that didn't get used in competition, that one is by far the best. Besides 'Animal' the others never really made it past working on the vocals and horsing around while we sang them. They had actual choreography for 'Teenage Dream'. He told me that he recognized me on the stairs that day and his goal was to be both friendly and welcoming, yet skillfully intimidating. So, he's definitely capable of scheming to use a song to intimidate the competition. It doesn't matter. I have no interest in him. He has no role in my life. I do appreciate you telling me though because hearing him sing it without any warning probably would have made my heart drop and made me flash back to that day. The song doesn't make me feel nostalgic. It just makes me feel sad."

Sebastian slid back, moved over behind Kurt, and slid one leg to each side of Kurt. He scooted forward as close to him as he could get, his chest against Kurt's back. He wrapped his arms around Kurt and started kissing the back of his neck.

"I made a recording of this to give to you today, but I'm going to sing it to you." He began to sing the Michael Bublé version of "Crazy Love".

_I can hear your heartbeat for a thousand miles_

_And the heavens open up every time you smile_

_And when I come to you, that's where I belong_

_I'm running to you like a river's song_

_You give me love, love, love – crazy love_

_You give me love, love, love – crazy love_

_You've got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down_

_And when I come to you when the sun goes down_

_You take away my trouble, take away my grief_

_You take away all of my heartache, in the night like a thief_

_You give me love, love, love – crazy love_

_You give me love, love, love – crazy love_

_Yes, I need you I the daytime_

_I need you in the night_

_I want to throw my arms around you_

_Kiss and hug, kiss and hug you tight_

_And when I'm returning from so far away_

_You give me some sweet lovin' to brighten up my day_

_Yes, it makes me feel right, it makes me feel whole_

_It makes me mellow down to my soul_

_You give me love, love, love – crazy love_

_You give me love, love, love – crazy love_

_I need your love, love, love._

_Love_

_Crazy love, crazy love_

Sebastian kissed him in the back of the neck when he stopped singing. "I love you."

Kurt wiggled loose and stood and turned. He gently pushed Sebastian onto his back on the bed and climbed back onto the bed on his hands and knees. He pinned Sebastian down and started kissing him. He kissed up his neck, toward his ear, pausing between kisses to say, "That was beautiful… Thank you… I love you so much." He continued kissing him, but moved to his lips instead of his neck.

Sebastian pulled away just long enough to slide up in the bed so he could pull Kurt down on top of him. Kurt crawled up the bed and followed him and managed to slip Sebastian's pajama pants off as he slid up. And then took his own off.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they got out of the shower and put their pajama pants back on again, Sebastian picked his phone up and sent Kurt an email with the song file attached.

When Kurt's phone pinged, he went to the dresser and picked up his phone thinking that it might be a message from Coach Sue, only to find that it was from Sebastian. He saved the file and smiled.

"I hadn't originally planned on singing it to you."

"I loved it." He took Sebastian's hand and led him back over to the bed and sat down. He intertwined their fingers. "I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you."

Sebastian turned and used his other hand to tip Kurt's chin up and turn his face toward him. "Sometimes you're very silly. You planned all of this. You packed my clothes, you packed a lunch for us today, and you found a way for us to get to the beach tomorrow. Those things are all things you did for me – for us. All I had to do was stand outside the building and wait for you to pick me up. You did everything else. That's a gift too."

"I've never thought of it that way."

"I figured not, but it's true nonetheless."

Sebastian leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. "No more silly talk about you not giving me a gift, okay?"

"Alright."

"You love me and you show me in everything you do. That's the best gift I could ever get."

"I do love you. So much." He kissed Sebastian just as sweetly. "I'm pretty tired from our afternoon activities. How about a little nap? We can set an alarm for 4:30 and get up and get ready, so we're ready to go if we get called to the stadium at 5:00."

"Naked cuddle nap?"

"As long as we get up more rested and not even more tired," he teased.

Sebastian leaned over and breathed into Kurt's ear, barely making a sound, he said, "We'll save rounds 4 and 5 for later tonight." He licked along the edge of Kurt's ear causing him to shiver and laugh.

"You are insatiable."

"You love it."

"I do. And I love you. Let's lie down." He pecked Sebastian on the lips and stood up. He set the phone alarm, went around the bed, got undressed, and got under the covers. He lay down on his side and it only took a matter of seconds before Sebastian had slid into the big spoon position behind Kurt and cuddled up for their nap.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They arrived back at the stadium about 5:45. They met back up with Coach Sue and the rest of the squad. Sue walked them to the area they had been assigned to.

"Dinner is being served out on the field in 10 minutes. Please be mindful of the fact that you're all going to be jumping around, but you do need to eat quickly. We'll meet back here at 6:15 to warm up and stretch. Stay in pairs. Go get in line."

Everyone moved to the line quickly. They were held back and two other teams were allowed to line up in front of them. Kurt figured that the Cheerios had drawn the 3rd performance position. Once they had eaten, they moved back to where Coach Sue was and stretched. Kurt, Brittany, and Santana did some vocal warms up.

They moved to the stands where the final five teams were seated for the Showcase. Since the event was being televised, the process was different from the morning.

The event was introduced by the commentators, shots were shown from earlier in the day, which the live audience couldn't see, and five minutes later, they moved to a commercial break. During the break, the first squad moved to their line up at the back of the competition area.

As soon as the commercial ended, they were introduced and immediately began their routine. The commentators spoke during their performance, but no one could hear them because they were in an enclosed area at the front, on the ground level.

As soon as their routine ended, the cameras on the field stopped broadcasting. The first team marched off, the show went to commercials, and the second team moved into position.

Each portion of the show went the same way. Once the final team had performed and the commentators had made their remarks, the show went to its next to last commercial break, and all five teams were reassembled on the field in rows. Santana, Kurt, and Brittany were in the front row on their knees. The rest of the squad was positioned behind them just as Coach Sue had told them to arrange themselves. She stood in the back row with the bases.

When the show resumed broadcasting, the cameras panned all five teams while the commentators made some final statements. A few minutes later the cameras panned back and focused on the announcer that had moved to the center of the field. She announced the placement in reverse order and declared the Cheerios the winners.

The teams remained in place for the final commercial break, allowing photographers to snap quick team photos with their trophies before exiting the field area before the end of the commercial.

After the final commercial, just the Cheerios and Coach Sue were left on the field. The Cheerios repositioned themselves into a double semi-circle around her, the front row was all of the shortest girls and the taller members stood in the second row. The announcer handed Coach Sue the large fake check that represented the funds that the school would get for the team's victory and she shook the announcer's hand. No one moved on the field until the cameras quit flashing.

The Cheerios didn't leave the area, but they didn't stay in formation. Several journalists approached Coach Sue and she gave brief interviews. Eventually the area was cleared of press members and the team was allowed to leave the field.

They were each handed a bottle of water as they made their way back up to their seats in the stands. Kurt sat down next to Sebastian, but didn't do anything other than sit and drink his water.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just fully aware of the fact that there are a lot of cameras in here right now and I am uninterested in starting any type of problem for behaving in any type of way that is unacceptable or that would attract attention. I'm not really all that sure of how to act, but I'm doing my best to blend in and just drink this water."

"So, you're embarrassed to be seen with me?" Sebastian sounded hurt.

"Nope. Not at all. I'm sitting with you right now and we're talking. I'm just being cautious. None of the girls who have boyfriends have their boyfriends with them. The bases on the team are not allowed to date the Cheerio girls. Britt and Santana are sitting in the next row down, next to each other just like us. I have the rest of this evening as a Cheerio and then it's over."

"Okay. I think I'm still a bit confused."

"This event is sponsored by a lot of companies. If I behave in a way that attracts attention to my sexuality, it could cause parents to speak out against the competition or prevent their children from participating. Whenever a large organization appears to support gay people, religious groups across the country threaten to pull their children from the group. A lot of girls get full scholarships to college through this event, allowing them to attend college when they would not have been able to otherwise. I will not risk those girls' futures just because I really want to kiss you. Once I'm not wearing this uniform and my actions can't be tied to the competition, I'll not be concerned that kissing you would hurt someone else."

"That's really sad, but I guess that makes sense when I think about my father. If Madeleine wanted to cheer, he wouldn't want her to compete someplace that he felt encouraged homosexuality. So, I get why you're doing what your doing. It's just so dumb that you have to think that hard about how you can behave."

"The other reason is that you are wearing a shirt that says 'STAFF'. No one in here knows that you aren't a recent college graduate working at the school as the assistant coach. A student/staff dating relationship would not be allowed. That's why I didn't even hug you when I came up here."

"That's true. How much longer are we staying here?"

"Hopefully, not too long."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian were in the lobby waiting for Santana and Brittany at 9:00. Kurt had found an 18+ club and Sue had given the four of them permission to leave the hotel since they had won her Nationals again.

"You two look lovely," Kurt said as they walked up.

"You clean up nice, Sebastian," Santana said smirking.

"Thank you."

"So, are we ready? This isn't a LGBT club, so we'll have to play it by ear. Britt's my date unless we see that we can pair up the way we want to," Kurt said.

"Fine by me as long as Fievel here can dance."

"He can dance."

"Let's go," Brittany said.

They went out front and took a cab to the club.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"This is a lot like the place in Columbus," Sebastian said when they went inside.

"There's a place like this in Columbus?" Santana asked.

"Yes, and it is LGBT friendly. You and Britt could dance together there."

"And you never told me about this place because?"

"You've been a bitch to me for a long time and just recently decided to be nicer?"

"Touché. I've been a bitch to a lot of people. Being angry with yourself will do that to a person. I hated everyone and everything, including myself. Well, of course, not Britt, but I wanted her to myself, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I wouldn't recommend being publicly outed on TV, but it did solve the whole 'How do I come out?' dilemma."

They found an empty table and sat down.

"I let Finn have it for that."

"I heard. I appreciate that. I was too mad back then to say so though. I also realized that a lot of your prissiness was insecurity as much as my bitchiness was. After you lost the hobbit, your fierceness came back. You've stood up to Schue and Sue and the She-Hobbit."

"Bas helped me see how I had lost myself."

"Well, good for him. I don't see any same-sex couples dancing together, so let's go Fievel." Santana pulled Sebastian out of the booth and out on the floor.

Kurt took Brittany's hand and followed them.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Two hours later, they were outside the club grabbing a cab back to the hotel. Sue insisted that they return by 11:30. Santana and Brittany followed them back to their hotel room.

"So, that was fun and Sebastian IS a good dancer. Lucky you." Santana plopped on the bed that hadn't been slept in. Brittany sat next to her.

"I know." Kurt smiled.

He and Sebastian sat down facing them on the other bed.

"Well, Kurt is always a good dance partner."

"Thank you, Britt."

She got up and kissed him on the cheek and sat down next to him. "You still need to give Sam lessons on how to get his hands soft like yours."

"I think he's been saving all of those lessons for Sebastian, there," Santana smirked.

"Really? Let me see, well, feel." Brittany reached over and took Sebastian's hand. "You're right. He has."

"So, tell us, what is the secret?"

Sebastian got up and leaned down and whispered in Santana's ear. She smacked him on the arm. "Oh, my God!" She broke down laughing hysterically. "Sweetie, I'm certain that Sam won't want to do what Sebastian is doing to get his hands soft like that. You'll have to just live with his hands the way they are."

"If you say so, but I still think Kurt could help him." She took one of his hands again.

"I'll buy him a bottle of the lotion I use, Britt. Will that be good enough?"

"Sure. I'll remind him to use it every day."

Kurt kept himself from laughing, but just barely. "You do that, sweetie."

"So, what are the two of you doing tomorrow?"

"Flying back to Ohio so Sebastian doesn't get kicked off the lacrosse team for missing the game tomorrow afternoon."

"Wait, what? You get kicked off for missing a game?" Santana asked.

"Yep. We even double-checked the handbook. Dalton takes commitment very seriously."

"I'd say. Seriously nuts."

"We're taking a bus ride out to the beach tomorrow morning at dawn and then heading to the airport afterwards," Kurt said.

"Alright, well then, it's been fun," Santana said. "But I guess we'll let you two get some sleep." She pulled Brittany to standing.

Kurt and Sebastian stood to walk them to the door.

Brittany pulled Kurt into a hug. "I had fun. Let's go to the place in Columbus soon, okay? Then I can dance with you AND with Santana."

"Sure, sweetie. I'm not sure when, but we'll see what we can arrange."

Kurt shut and locked the door.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"She totally still has a crush on you."

"I know. I've never quite figured out why since she could get any guy."

"Well, you're gorgeous and she's got eyes." He leaned in and spoke quietly into Kurt's ear. "Maybe it's because she got to kiss you, but not the rest. You're the forbidden fruit that she almost had." Sebastian licked Kurt's ear.

Kurt pushed Sebastian back a little and pecked him on the lips. He started undressing. "What did you tell Santana that made her crack up like that?"

"I told her that I use your lotion to give you naked massages."

"You what?" Kurt's voice went up an octave. "Oh, never mind. I should have known that only something so bawdy would have made her crack up like that."

"You're not mad, are you?"

Kurt moved closer, only his underwear still on, and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and kissed him. "No, I'm not mad. She'll never let me live it down, but I'm not mad. I'm not ashamed that I love you and that you love me and that you touch me. I guess the fact that you would even say that to someone is a huge ego boost. The fact that someone as gorgeous as you would actually admit to liking me…"

Sebastian moved swiftly and grabbed Kurt up bridal style and plopped him on the extra bed. "You are stunning. And not just to me. But especially to me. Turn over and stay here. I'm getting the lotion."

"Let's shower first. Otherwise, we'll just wash it all off."

"Sure, let's go." Sebastian pulled him up.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"After twice in the shower, how do you have the energy left to give me a massage?"

"Ah, well, I didn't perform a very energy-sapping cheer routine twice today."

"Ooh. Right there."

Sebastian rubbed the knot out.

"That's true. Ooh. Ow."

Sebastian continued to work on Kurt's shoulders and back until he didn't get any more "ows" from him.

"Turn on your side. I'll still do your calves, but when you fall asleep, I won't have to try to turn you."

Kurt turned and lay on his side to be the small spoon. Sebastian did what he said and then scooted up behind his sleeping boyfriend and cuddled up and fell asleep.

A few hours later, Kurt woke Sebastian up thrashing, "No. Stop. No."

Sebastian did what he had done before, _"Kurt, mon étoile, it's okay. I'm here. We're in bed in the hotel in Florida."_

"_Bas?"_

"_Yes. I'm here. You're okay. I've got you. Go back to sleep."_

Kurt scooted back and grabbed hold of Sebastian's hand and held it tight to his chest. "_I love you, Bas."_ He fell back asleep.

Sebastian was never so lucky. His heart would rage with anger every time Kurt would have nightmares. He always had to calm himself down before he could fall back asleep. And he usually ended up crying, always wondering what Kurt did when he wasn't there to reassure him. He held him close, breathed in his scent, and finally fell back asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They climbed into the bus to make the 30-minute trek to the beach at 5:30. They sat together and held hands. Kurt had packed shorts for them to wear and had found two pairs of flip flops at Goodwill to bring with them. Sebastian brought his camera and Kurt was carrying an old towel he had brought from home.

They talked about their upcoming camping trip, but spoke in French to keep as many people as possible from eavesdropping.

When the bus stopped, they got out. It was still pretty dark outside, but the faint glow of the sun could be seen along the edge of the horizon. They walked down to the beach and sat down on the towel Kurt brought. Kurt sat down first, and Sebastian straddled him and sat right up behind him and propped his chin on Kurt's shoulder and wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"I'm so happy to be here with you." He kissed Kurt's neck. "This is so cool."

"I agree. I've wanted to see the ocean ever since I learned there were oceans. And now I have the perfect travel partner."

Sebastian pulled his camera out of his cargo short's pocket. "Here. See if you can hold the camera out and take photo of us. Press the timer, then hold the camera out."

Kurt did what Sebastian said. He turned the camera around. "We're not blurry, but we're off to the side."

"That's fine. You can try again if you want. Then, we'll use your phone."

They took a few more shots of themselves. Sebastian took the camera back and kept it out to take a few pictures of the sunrise. Mostly he just wanted to watch it with Kurt.

Kurt squirmed a bit. He bent his knees. "Criss-cross your legs under my knees. Let's see if we can make it easier to sit this way because I don't want to move."

They rearranged a bit and got more comfortable. Kurt leaned back and Sebastian leaned forward and they counterbalanced each other.

"It's beautiful," Kurt said.

"It really is."

Sebastian took a few photos. They took a few more of themselves once the sun had come up and was shining on their faces. Once the sun was fully up, they got up and walked down to the water and waded in the surf.

"Let's build a small sand castle," Sebastian said. He got down on his knees and started pushing the wet sand into a pile.

Kurt went and laid the towel up in the dry sand and came back and helped him. Kurt took a quick picture with his phone before the waves rolled back in and washed over their castle.

"Some day, I want to come back to a place like this with you and spend at least a few days." He let the waves roll back out and then rinsed his hands in the surf. "Let's go up that way." He picked the towel up and waited for Sebastian.

He rinsed his hands in the water as well and shook the water off. He reached out to Kurt and Kurt grabbed his hand and interlaced their fingers. Kurt handed Sebastian the towel and checked the time on his phone. They only had about 45 minutes left before the bus would be back.

They walked up the beach for about 15 minutes, and then headed back the direction they had come from. They stopped and picked up a few shells on their walk back. Before they headed back toward the bus pick-up area, Kurt pulled Sebastian close to him, wrapped his arms around him, and kissed him soundly. Sebastian was surprised, but caught up quickly and started kissing Kurt back.

"_What was that for? Not that I'm complaining,"_ he asked with a huge smile on his face.

"_Just to remind you that I love you and I'm not ashamed that I do. Yesterday, you were having some doubts in the stadium."_ Kurt took his hand again and started walking toward the bus stop.

"_What about your dad?"_

"_My dad isn't ashamed of us and if the media tries to smear him by posting some picture of us kissing, then he won't care at all. We're not being indecent. He'd tell whoever it was to mind their own business and use their press potential to write stories of value to the American public."_

Sebastian laughed. _"You know, I can hear him say just that."_

Kurt smiled and nodded.

They got to the sidewalk and street vendors had set up tables not far from the stop.

"_Let's get two t-shirts. They're just $5. Stay here and I'll go pick two out. That way if the bus gets here, we won't get left behind."_

Kurt walked over to the table and looked through the selection. He didn't really want neon, but didn't really want white either. He found a palm tree, sand and water scene with Florida written in cursive in the waves in a pale yellow and a pale turquoise that he liked. He grabbed one of each and held them up to make sure they looked okay and that they would fit. He paid the vendor, thanked him, took the bag, and headed back to the bus stop.

"_So, you found some?"_

"_I did. You can see when we get to the hotel. We can wear them on the way home."_

The bus pulled up a couple of minutes later. They waited for everyone to get off, and then they boarded and rode back to the hotel. Once they got there, they hurried up to their room and took their shorts off and shook out any sand. They jumped in the shower to rinse any residual sand off their feet and legs, dried off, and put their shorts back on.

"Stay here."

Kurt went back in the room and pulled the t-shirts out of the bag, put the towel they had taken to the beach and their flip flops in it, and put it in the suitcase. He put the pale turquoise shirt on.

He went back toward the bathroom. "Close your eyes."

Sebastian did. Kurt put the t-shirt on over his head and Sebastian slipped his arms in.

"Now, open them."

He looked at Kurt's and then down at his own. "I like them. Colorful, but understated."

They put their socks and shoes on and double-checked the room. When they didn't find anything, they headed down to check out and get on the shuttle to the airport.


	26. Chapter 26

They arrived in the visitor's lot at Dalton at 3:00 because their flight had taken off a little late.

"I need to run to the shop that does the letter jackets here in town before I come to the game, so I'm going to run out and do that really quick. I'll be back before the game starts."

Sebastian leaned inside the window and kissed Kurt and headed off toward the building.

Kurt drove straight to the shop. The lady who owned the store knew he was coming. He parked and took his jacket and the two national championship patches he had inside.

"Good afternoon. I'm Kurt Hummel. I spoke with you on the phone."

A woman in her 60s, with lovely white hair said, "Yes, yes, dear. Let me see your jacket and the patches. You wanted one sewn on each arm near the shoulder correct?"

"Yes, like this." He demonstrated the location.

"That won't be a problem at all. It will take me about 30 minutes, like I said on the phone."

"Thank you. Is there anywhere within walking distance where I could buy some roses?"

"Well, it's not within walking distance in 30 minutes, but I can tell you a place you could drive and get the most lovely roses that won't break your budget and be back in 30 minutes."

"That would be lovely, thank you."

She gave him directions and he returned 25 minutes later.

"Did you find what you needed there?"

"I did. Thank you."

"Your jacket's all done. Congratulations, by the way."

"Oh, thank you. And thank you for doing this for me so quickly."

"You're welcome."

Kurt paid her for the sewing she had done and headed back to Dalton.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He grabbed the flowers he had bought and headed around to the stadium. He didn't stand along the edge like he had before because he didn't want Sebastian to see the flowers until afterwards. He went into the stands, sat down, and waited for the game to start. He got a text from Jeff asking where he was sitting. He gave him a description and a few minutes later, he saw Jeff and Nick walking up the stairs and down the aisle he was sitting in.

"Hey, guys! You run of out things to do?"

Nick answered, "Nah. We just decided that we wanted to come watch Sebastian play. The team is doing really well this year from what he said."

"They are. They've not lost any games yet."

"Those are nice flowers," Jeff said, looking around Kurt.

"I got them for Sebastian. Yesterday was our 3-month anniversary."

"Wow. It's been three months already?" Jeff said.

"It has. Scoot closer, I'll tell you something."

Jeff scooted all the way next to Kurt. "We got the house. You can tell Nick."

Jeff scooted back to his spot and whispered in Nick's ear.

"Congratulations!"

"You can come stay with us whenever you have time."

"We got our OSU letters. And hopefully we'll get paired together in the dorms. If we don't we're going to try begging whoever we get paired with to go in and request a room change."

"You can come stay with us too." Jeff lowered his voice to just barely audible. "We'll just have to figure out sleeping arrangements. We're definitely putting a queen bed in our room and storing the school mattresses, even if we have to store them under he bed somehow. I'm ready to sleep in a bigger bed. We've both grown a lot since we enrolled here and I'm like 6'2" and we need more space."

Kurt laughed. "We're trying to figure out a way to convince my dad to let us take our bed from home. It's super comfortable."

Jeff laughed. "Good luck with that."

The teams came out on the fields and the game got underway. It was as fast-paced as the other games Kurt had seen. Sebastian scored four times, which still made him the high scorer for Dalton. They won 12-8. When the game ended, they all stood up. "We're still on for our movie this evening, right?"

"Of course."

"We'll see you at dinner probably. If you text us when you're headed that way, we can go at the same time," Nick said.

"Alright. Let's head down to where the team files out."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Nick, Jeff! I didn't know you were coming to watch."

"We wanted to see you play at least a couple of times. You came to watch me play soccer."

Nick said, "Congratulations on winning!"

"Thanks."

"We'll see you at dinner," Jeff said as they headed off toward the building.

Kurt stepped forward and pulled the flowers out from behind his back.

"These are for you."

"They're beautiful. Thank you."

"Three roses for three months together. Red is for love. Yellow is for friendship. And orange is for passion."

Sebastian took them out of Kurt's hand and smelled them. "They're amazing. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll hold them until you come out of the locker room. I know there's nowhere to put them while you're in there. I'll go around and wait for you in the hallway."

Sebastian smelled them and then handed them back. Kurt headed inside.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian carried his flowers with a huge, almost goofy, smile on his face. They walked hand in hand out the side door and around the outside of the building to the parking lot. Sebastian smelled the flowers numerous times on their trip around the building.

They grabbed the stuff out of the Navigator and headed in the front of the building and up the stairs. He opened his door and let Kurt walk through the door first. He smelled the flowers one more time and laid them gently on his desk.

He wrapped his arms around Kurt and held him close. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I didn't know you liked flowers so much."

"Flowers are beautiful, but the fact that you got me flowers… You don't have to do it a lot or anything. Once is enough, really. Actually, I want you to hold them and let me take your picture. Please?"

"Do you want me to change into something nicer?"

"No. Your shirt won't show anyway."

He pulled his desk chair out and put it against the blank wall. "Sit there and hold the flowers." He handed them to Kurt and positioned them both until he could capture the image he had in his mind. "Perfect." He put his camera back away.

"Let's put them in the vase."

"There's a vase?"

"Yeah. It's really cool." Kurt removed a plastic bag from inside the tissue paper. He took it in the bathroom and ran the water until it was really warm and filled the plastic bag. He sat it on the counter top and repositioned it a little bit until it relaxed and took the vase shape. Once it was formed, Kurt dumped the warm water out and refilled it with cool, but not cold water.

"That is really cool."

"I saw them in the shop and I thought it was a much better idea than a regular vase that could break. Go grab your scissors and the roses. Oh, and the little packet too."

Sebastian brought them in.

Kurt turned the water back on and then back off. "Can you mix half the content of that package into the water?"

"Sure."

Kurt turned the water back on. He held the rose stems under the water and trimmed them the length they needed to be to stand in the vase. He quickly moved them from the running water to the vase. "The florist said to do it this way."

Sebastian just nodded.

Kurt picked up the vase and carried it into Sebastian's room and put it on his dresser. He was careful to make sure that the vase didn't have any water on it.

"They're perfect."

"I'm glad you like them so much."

"Come over here. Take your shoes off and be the big spoon, okay?"

"Of course." Kurt sat on the bed, scooted back toward the wall, and lay down on his side.

Sebastian lay down next to him and scooted back. Kurt slipped his arm under the pillow and then wrapped his other arm around Sebastian and held his hand. He kissed him on the back of the neck. Sebastian lifted Kurt's hand and kissed his palm and then held his hand against his heart. He bent his elbow and laid his other hand in Kurt's hand that was under the pillow. Kurt wrapped his fingers around Sebastian's hand.

"I guess I never realized it until you were standing there with them. I used to see people standing around different places and someone would walk up to them and give them flowers. It was always just so beautiful. I guess it's probably one of those things I had put into the category of 'never going to happen to me'. I never actively wished for it to happen. The idea of it happening was so far removed from my life."

"Well, I'm glad they make you happy. I love making you happy. I love seeing you happy and smiling. You have a great smile." He kissed his neck again. "I love cuddling with you, but if we don't go downstairs soon, we'll miss dinner."

"Oh, I texted Jeff that I wanted to order a pizza and split it instead of eating in the dining hall. We'll eat when we watch the movie with them."

"Okay. What time?"

"7:00."

Kurt felt Sebastian relax in his arms and heard his breathing become very regular. He held still so Sebastian could nap. He lay thinking about all of the upcoming events – planning and plotting. He was tired too, but his mind was wide-awake thinking about so many things.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt heard Sebastian's phone alarm go off. He kissed the back of his neck. "Bas, your phone alarm is going off."

"Hmm? I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay. You were tired. We've been up a long time and you played hard. Did you set the alarm to go to Nick and Jeff's room or something else? I'm not sure what time it is. My phone's over there too."

"I set it for 6:45, so we'd know when it was time to leave."

"Alright then, let's get up."

Sebastian carefully turned over. Kurt scooted back farther towards the wall, giving him more room to maneuver. "Did you sleep too?"

"No. My mind was racing. I was thinking about the beach this morning and I'm excited about all of the things that we're getting to do soon. I enjoyed holding you while you slept though."

"Thank you. I feel a lot better now." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt.

"I'm glad. Let's get going before we end up making everyone eat cold pizza."

Sebastian got up and grabbed the pillow. Kurt grabbed the throw pillows and they headed to Nick and Jeff's room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After the movie, the four of them sat around talking for a while.

"We're definitely going to have to try a Chicago-style pizza when we go. I've heard some of the guys talk about it," Nick said.

Jeff got all excited. "I have an idea. Let's ask our dads to pay for a room for us in Chicago. That way Kurt and Sebastian can stay with us. I wish you could ride with us, Kurt."

"That would be fun. Maybe we can split the cost, like we did in Indianapolis."

"We'll ask."

"I almost forgot," Jeff said. "Congratulations on winning last night! We watched you on TV."

"Who's is 'we'?"

"About half the Warblers."

"I see."

"None of them are going to make fun of you. They all thought it was really impressive."

Kurt nodded. He was looking at their wall calendar and noticed how few days didn't have X's marked through them. "What time is your graduation ceremony? I didn't even think about it being on the same day as ours. You guys went back to school later than we did after winter break. I guess I just figured your graduation would be later than ours."

"You must have had other days off that we didn't or maybe we attended more days last semester than you did?" Jeff offered.

Nick answered Kurt's first question. "The ceremony is in the evening. It's full of pomp and circumstance and long-winded speeches by long-ago-graduated alumni that support the school financially. It's preceded by a dinner in the dining hall for the graduates and their families. So, the whole thing starts at 6:00."

"Wow."

"There are about 125 graduates this year, I think is what I heard," Jeff said.

"I'm assuming this is a suit and tie affair then."

"Most definitely. The Warblers sang last year. That's how we know so much," Nick added.

"Graduates wear their uniform with the blazer. The school provides navy blue robes to wear over the top. We get tassels in different colors. Varsity sports team members get red tassels, non-sports competitive teams like debate get navy blue, the Warblers wear navy blue and red striped tassels, and National Honor Society members get gold tassels. Then there are white ones, which is a special honor like being and RA or team captain."

"What's National Honor Society?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh, here at Dalton the teachers make the recommendations. If you've been nominated, you'll be notified soon. You have to have a certain GPA and get recommended by a couple of teachers or coaches for your leadership skills."

"Are you two in it?"

"Yes. We have been since 10th grade."

"Me too," Kurt said. "Our group at McKinley is pretty small. I'd imagine the group here is quite large."

"Most everyone who has been here for all of high school is in it here. There's a big push amongst the 'old money' for their sons to be members. So, they make it a priority to get in."

"Ah, well at McKinley, it's about as popular as the Celibacy Club."

Jeff, Nick, and Sebastian burst out laughing.

Jeff asked, "A Celibacy Club?"

"Yep, but now that I think about it, I think it must have disbanded. Miss Pillsbury was in charge of it and I think after Finn and Rachel started having sex that she lost her last committed member. But the best thing ever was when Puck, Quinn, and Rachel were the only three members. Miss Pillsbury had gotten married and her husband joined in playing the drums and singing with them. They sang 'Afternoon Delight' for the Glee Club in an effort to encourage the members to consider celibacy."

"You've got to be kidding." Nick said.

"Nope. I was sad to have missed it live. But I did see the video."

"What is 'Afternoon Delight'?"

Kurt started singing. By less than a minute into the song, Sebastian was laughing hysterically. Kurt quit singing.

"Oh, God. They got up and sang that song while supposedly encouraging celibacy? That is awesome."

Kurt continued to tell ridiculous stories about McKinley and Jeff and Nick got to see a few of the videos that Kurt had on his phone, including 'Toxic'.

"That was your director performing with you?" Nick stated.

"Yep. He was trying to impress Miss Pillsbury."

"You said she was married."

"Not at the time. I missed being part of the 'Tik Tok' performance after the club had spent the week partying. It was supposed to be Alcohol Awareness Week and they were supposed to sing a song that encouraged sobriety. They performed while hungover and slightly drunk. Brittany was singing lead and she puked everywhere and Santana too. They all got coupons for frozen yogurt from the principal for their amazing performance because he thought it was some kind of stage trick."

"There are no words…" Nick said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt woke up at 6:00, like usual. There was a faint amount of light coming in under the edge of the curtains, allowing him to watch Sebastian sleep. He hoped Sebastian didn't think it was creepy, but he was beautiful in his relaxed state. Not that he wasn't always, but he just looked so peaceful when he was sleeping.

Sebastian stirred and blinked a few times. "Good morning, gorgeous."

Kurt leaned forward and kissed him. "Good morning to you." He ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "You're beautiful, you know." Kurt kissed him several more times.

Sebastian pushed away his first response and just said, "Thank you." He scooted closer to Kurt. "How did you sleep?"

"Mmm. Of course, our bed is the best, but anywhere with you is better than sleeping alone. I counted when I was looking at Nick and Jeff's calendar last night. I counted just 20 more days apart. And then we get to spend every night together. There are 34 days until school ends. We'll be together for 14 and apart for 20. But soon. We've made it 15 weeks. Just 5 left."

"You don't think you'll get sick of me being around all the time?"

"Why would I? Are you having second thoughts about the house? About us? Now would be the time to say so. If you don't want to live with me… please just tell me." Kurt's voice was cracking.

"I'm sorry. Kurt, I'm sorry." Kurt looked like he was about to cry. _"Mon étoile – no, don't cry." _He scooted as close as he could to Kurt without pinning him to the wall. "I shouldn't try to tease when I first wake up. Obviously a gravel-filled voice and joking don't go together. I love you and I want us to be together. I want us to live together in our house. Please don't cry."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. It's what I think about every night that you're not here. I think about how it won't be much longer and I can go home. One of the songs I found when I was looking for one to sing for you fit how I feel, but the lyrics to the verses just didn't match our situation, but parts of it and the chorus…" Sebastian started to sing.

_Maybe surrounded by _

_A million people I_

_Still feel all alone_

_I just want to go home_

_Oh, I miss you, you know_

_Let me go home_

_I'm just too far from where you are_

_I wanna go home._

"I'm sorry I scared you like that. I don't ever want to be the one to make you cry." Tears were streaming down Sebastian's face.

"I'm fine. Stop crying." Kurt kissed him. "I love you. I believe you." And kissed him again. "Let's not tease each other that way, okay?" Kurt laughed.

"_You're right."_ He wiped his own face off. _"Enough of that. Being in bed with you makes me happy, not sad."_

"_Me too. We have homework to do still, but how about a morning walk?"_

"_Sounds nice."_

"_I never did give you the surprise I brought you, did I?"_

"_I think we got caught up doing other things." _He waggled his eyebrows.

"_Imagine that."_

"_I do. Frequently."_

"_Bas!"_

"_What? You're gorgeous and really sexy."_

Kurt refrained from rolling his eyes. _"It's better that than thinking about other guys."_

"_What other guys? You're the only guy I think about. Your soft skin, your gorgeous eyes, those arms…"_

Kurt play smacked him.

Sebastian grabbed him when he moved his arm and rolled onto his back, pulling Kurt on top of him. _"I think of this a lot too."_ Before Kurt could get a word in edgewise, Sebastian kissed him. _"What I think about most though is how you smile at me when you think I'm not looking."_

Kurt tilted his head slightly.

Sebastian started to talk again and Kurt laid his head halfway on Sebastian's pillow and half on Sebastian's shoulder.

"_The first date we went out on, we went to the museum."_

"_Mmm hmm. I remember. That was a fun day."_

"_It was. And for me, it was the first time I realized that I could be something good in someone's life. You said how much you enjoyed having me with you and it was really the first time I had ever given any thought to the fact that I could bring joy to someone. And every time I see you smile at me when you think I'm not looking or don't notice, it reminds me of that and of how much you love me just for being me."_

This time it was Kurt that started kissing Sebastian. _"I do love you, so much."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Fifteen minutes later, they were rushing out the door because with all of their crazy busy weekend activities, they had nearly forgotten that it was Kurt's last weekend to go to his voice and acting lessons. The university school year ended much sooner than the high school's.

Kurt double-checked his satchel for the thank you cards he had made before Sebastian locked the door. "I think I've got everything."

"I think brownies for breakfast is a fantastic idea." Sebastian stuffed the rest of the second one in his mouth as he grabbed his keys out of his pocket.

"We'll eat real food for lunch. You can find something interesting for us to try while you're waiting."

"I can do that."

They scurried down the stairs and out to Sebastian's car because it got better gas mileage.

Kurt spent most of the ride there doing reading assignments that he hadn't completed yet. They found a classical radio station out of Columbus that they listened to for quite a while.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian pulled in right behind Trevor. Sebastian sat in the car with the windows rolled down. He brought a few textbooks with him to read as well. He worked on getting his reading done and he found a place for them to eat lunch.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt followed Trevor up the stairs.

"I have a small questionnaire for you to fill out today that I have to turn in to my faculty advisor."

"Sure. Do you want me to do it now or later?"

"I guess now to makes sure you have enough time to answer the questions." He handed Kurt a form to fill out. After Kurt took it from him and sat down at a table to fill it out, Trevor pulled out a tripod and set it up with a camera on it to record Kurt.

Kurt saw what he was doing and looked a little confused, but focused back on answering the questions quickly. He finished about 10 minutes later and put the form in the envelope that had been at the bottom of the stack, sealed it, and handed it back to Trevor.

"Thank you. I brought the camera because I want you to see the difference in yourself. Please stand over there. I'm going to play the backing tracks you initially used and I want you to sing for me."

The intro to "Something's Coming" started. Kurt came in and began to sing strong and clear. He finished the song. Trevor started another track and the intro to "Defying Gravity" started. Kurt sang out and let his voice soar and there were no waivers on the high notes, which came out strong and supported. Trevor stopped the recording and transferred it to his laptop.

"Sit down with me, but grab your earbuds first."

Kurt pulled the chair out and sat down. Trevor put in a splitter and plugged both sets of earbuds in and played Kurt's recording from the end of October and then the new one nearly 6 months later. Kurt watched and listened carefully. When the new recording ended, Trevor pulled his earbuds out and Kurt followed suit.

"So, what do you think?"

"I was really nervous the first time because it was the day that we met, but I was also super prepared. Today, I was very comfortable because we know each other now, but I was completely unprepared. Yoday's recording was much better. My confidence in my lower range has improved so much that I don't feel like I'm faking singing like a guy, if that makes any sense."

"It does. You were used to singing second soprano, so singing outside that range felt weird to you, even though you could do it."

"And now it doesn't feel weird. I can't say that I've gained enough confidence to walk into an audition and not be nervous because I was nervous when I auditioned for Madame Tibideaux, but not like I would have been last fall."

"I had forgotten about that since you had decided to attend UC. Do you have a recording of your audition? I'd like to see it when we finish this."

"I do."

"Great. Let's listen to the next ones." He played both versions of "Defying Gravity".

They both listened and watched carefully. When the second recording stopped, Kurt was the first to speak.

"The confidence level is much higher. I think that even with what I said a few minutes ago – that I was comfortable singing in my higher range compared to my lower range, I was also embarrassed by it to some extent. I had been teased a lot about my girly voice and I felt like even though it was what I was good at, I should defer to the girls to sing songs written in that range. But now when I see myself, I don't see that hesitancy to belt out the high notes. I don't look embarrassed to be singing a song written for a woman."

"I see that as well, but when I listen to your vocal quality, it has matured a lot. You've learned to control and use your whole range since we started. You've worked really hard and it shows. Let's me see your audition."

Kurt handed him his phone and Trevor switched his earbuds to the phone. He watched the video and Kurt watched him.

"That was fantastic. Did you to the choreography?"

"I did."

"Well, I don't see how Madame Tibideaux could say 'no'. How did your diva frenemy do?" Trevor handed Kurt his phone back and packed up his laptop.

"She choked. Utterly and completely. I heard that she stalked her by going to visit her at one of the other audition locations. I wasn't home Friday to get my letter or find out what hers said. I guess I'll find out tonight when I get home."

"I forgot to congratulate you. I watched the championship on TV."

"Thanks. Now, we just have Show Choir Nationals in Chicago in three weeks."

"I brought a couple of the duet pieces that you and I have worked on for us to sing through before I go."

"Sure. Can you email me those two recordings from today? I want to show my dad."

"No problem. I'll do it when I get home."

They sang through the songs together. When they finished, Kurt walked over to the table and pulled out the thank you card that he had brought for Trevor and handed it to him. "You can open it later. Thank you so much for all of your help this year. I'm sure I'll see you around once school starts in the fall."

"I'm sure we will. I'm assuming that you'll be auditioning to be in the graduate students' productions, which means you may eventually audition for me."

Kurt smiled. "No favoritism."

"I can't promise anything." He laughed. "I hope your group does well at Nationals. Give me a call when you move to town and Matt and I will take you out on the Cincinnati tour."

"I'll do that."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Matt came in right at 10:00. "Good morning, Mr. National Cheerleading Championship Cheerio."

Kurt laughed at his silly sing-song greeting. "Good morning to you too, Matt."

"How was Florida?"

"It was lovely and far too brief. We had to leave yesterday morning to get back to Sebastian's lacrosse game. We were confined to the hotel all day Friday except for when we were competing. We went to the beach for about two hours before we had to fly back. But at least we got to see the ocean. Neither of us had ever been before."

"Any other news?"

"My NYADA letter is waiting in Lima. It was due to arrive Friday, but I haven't been home yet. We got the house. So, that will be cool. The closing is this coming week."

"When will you be moving down?"

"We haven't discussed it really. We already have jobs in Lima, so I'm figuring that for the summer we'll still stay in Lima most of the time, but we'll come down for a few days in a row every week or two and work on things. The house needs window coverings and I'm going to fix up the basement stairs, maybe just redo them completely. They're that older style without kickboards and they're a little narrow for my tastes."

"But nothing major needs redone?"

"The current owner flipped it and we had it inspected. It's got new mostly everything. We're just going to do a little painting and the work on the stairs. We'll have you over, if you don't mind sitting in moon chairs. We have two. As a gracious host, I'll let you sit in mine." Kurt laughed. "We don't currently own any furniture really. It will be a work in progress – maybe for a long time."

"I'd love to come. I even own a moon chair. I'll bring my own. Then you won't have to sit on the floor."

"Sounds great. We do own a TV. We can sit in the moon chairs and watch movies. We'll be getting some bar stools right away so we won't have to eat standing up."

Matt laughed.

"I found out that Sebastian likes to skateboard, so we're working on a plan to buy our own skateboards. Whenever we're down over the summer, if you're around we can go out."

"Sounds fun. Trevor likes to go as well."

"Oh, I didn't know. You've never had him come with us."

"He can't on Sunday mornings. When he leaves, he heads down to the sanctuary. He's the church organist."

"I did not know that. He told me his uncle was the associate pastor back in the fall, but he didn't say anything about being the organist."

"Music school students have to pay their bills somehow."

"That's true. We can all go some time besides Sunday mornings. Maybe you can share the secret of where to get a decent skateboard without spending a whole week's paycheck."

"I guess that depends on how much you make a week. They're not cheap. But I know a great place where you can build your own and it doesn't cost more than buying a ready-made one."

"Can we go today?"

"Sure."

"Sebastian's doing schoolwork in the car and looking for a fun place for lunch. Do you want to come with us? We can go to the skateboard place and out for lunch."

"Sounds good to me. Now, before we have no time left at all, take these and we're going to work on cold auditions one last time. And I have a questionnaire for you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian followed Matt to the skateboard shop. It was a really cool place. By the time they had looked around at everything and had written down what they liked and priced everything out, church was over and Matt texted Trevor to meet them for lunch a little later. Kurt and Sebastian thanked the owner for his time and said they'd be back at some point.

The three of them met up with Trevor at the Japanese place that Sebastian had found. Matt had been there before and gave it a good review. The four of them ordered at the counter and sat down at a table and waited for their food to be ready.

"So, are you ready for school to be over?" Trevor asked.

"I am, for sure," Sebastian answered. "I like Dalton just fine, but I would have actually considering attending McKinley this semester if I could have managed to take 8 classes like I am now, but that school would never be open to the idea of an independent study class for credit." Sebastian briefly explained his scholastic trials and tribulations of switching from the French system to the American one.

Kurt said, "Five weeks. We have five crazy weeks left. We're both preparing for Nationals. So, hopefully Chicago will be fun. I'm not even sure how long we're staying. It may just be one night since we're driving."

"The Warblers are leaving Friday night and staying until Sunday."

Their number was called and the four of them went to collect their food.

The topic changed from end of school activities to their plans for the summer. After they finished eating, they all headed out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt drove them to Jungle Jim's and they stocked up on things they had planned to take on their camping trip.

"Several pieces of French cheese managed to make their way into the cart, I see," Kurt said.

"Oh, did you miss seeing those on the shopping list? They're permanently at the top of the list, even if written in invisible ink."

"Right." Kurt hip checked him and laughed. "Breakfast?"

"Along with the boiled eggs you said we were going to take. And some banana bread. You are still planning to sleep at some point this week, right? It won't be much of a vacation if you sleep the whole time we're in the mountains."

"I'll sleep. Just remember that I have two days of school work to do that you don't because Dad's calling me out, but I still have to do the work."

"I know. Just make sure you sleep, okay?"

"I will."

They made their way though the parts of the store they needed to go to and headed to check out. They loaded everything up quickly and headed back to Dalton. Sebastian drove back giving Kurt a chance to do a little more reading since he was going to have to drive back to Lima by himself a few hours after they got back and Sebastian would have time to do schoolwork then.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They pulled into the Dalton lot at 4:00. They moved the shopping bags from the car to the Navigator and Sebastian moved into the student lot. They headed upstairs to finish up their homework.

"I know you enjoy math and I don't hate it or anything, but I will honestly be glad when this class is over. We get assigned far too many problems. It's just overkill. I did this same process for the last 10 equations. I don't need to do it 10 more times. Ugh." Kurt put his head down on the desk.

Sebastian moved from the bed and put his hands on Kurt's shoulders and started to rub gently. "I've never seen you this upset about math problems. Something else is bothering you."

"Yeah, I guess. I need to finish these first and then we'll talk."

"Alright." Sebastian went back over to the bed and went back to what he had been doing.

Nearly half hour later, Kurt snuggled up against him on the bed. "Sorry about earlier."

"I'm fine. I just don't like to see you upset."

"After we got back, the thought of going home and finding my NYADA letter is stressing me out. If it says 'yes' and Rachel's says 'yes', then everything will be reasonably okay. But if they are mismatched answers, things will be bad, either way. If mine says 'yes' and hers says 'no', she will be crazy with jealousy and insisting that I did something to pad my CV somehow. If mine says 'no' and hers says 'yes', then it will be me putting up with five weeks of gloating. How she's always known that she was destined for Broadway and this is just the first step on her ladder to success. And how I can still come with her and try again or just get a job and live with them."

"Why would she think that?"

"You've heard her. She was still thinking I'd go with her even though we haven't been speaking for months."

"Right. Her long-term plan to reunite you and Blaine in her New York fantasy."

"Bingo."

"It's been three weeks since they were over at the house. Dad talked about getting them into marriage counseling. Maybe he did. I hope so because if this NYADA thing goes the way it should – her not getting in – she's going to need someone to talk to."

"What do you think she'll do?"

"I have no idea. But I wouldn't put it past her to try to follow me to Cincinnati next year. Because if I can get in, in her own mind, that makes it easy for her to do."

"I guess the only upside to that would be that she would be a year behind you and never compete for roles against you."

"I just can't talk about this. It would actually be easier on me if she got into NYADA and she left me in peace. Listening to her gloat for five weeks would be bearable. So, my inner sense of vengeance wishes that she got a rejection letter because she choked and that would be the logical outcome. But… why can't she just grow up and be a reasonable human being? That's all I really want."

Sebastian picked up his books and moved them to his desk, set his phone alarm, set it to vibrate, put it back in his pocket, and went back to the bed. "Lie down with me. Let me hold you for a while."

Kurt nodded and turned on his side. Sebastian lay down facing him and scooted closer until they were lying chest to chest, legs intertwined, arms around each other, trading sweet gentle kisses back and forth.

"It's almost over now. We can do this."

"I know. I'm just tired. I don't want to go home without you."

Sebastian wiggled onto his back and Kurt lay on him like a body pillow. It didn't take long for Kurt to fall asleep. His alarm went of at 6:20, giving them just enough time to make it down to the dining hall for dinner. Sebastian woke Kurt up with kisses like Kurt usually woke him up.

"Mmm? You're right." He kissed Sebastian back. "Kisses are the best alarm clock."

Sebastian chuckled and kissed him again. "Hop up. We need to go eat before the dining hall closes."

"Oh. Okay. Why'd you let me sleep?"

"Because I'd rather you get a bad grade tomorrow than have a wreck driving home because you fell asleep behind the wheel and drove off the road."

"Come on."

"You're not dressed."

"Better a demerit if someone writes me up than going hungry all night. Let's go."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Well, you managed not to get a demerit, which is good."

"We're not hungry anymore, which is what mattered to me. I want you to make it home safe."

They looked around the room and packed up everything that needed to go back to Lima. Kurt took all of the dirty clothes with him. They carried everything out to the Navigator and put it in the cargo area. They sat in the back seat for a few minutes kissing before Kurt left.

"I'll call you when I get upstairs with the letter."

Sebastian leaned in the window and gave him one last kiss. "Be safe. Pull over if you get tired. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you Wednesday."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian went back upstairs and texted Thad, David, and Trent. They came to his room about a half hour later.

"Why did you want to talk to all of us?" Trent asked.

"I just want to make a suggestion, I guess. Rather than working on all three songs every day of the week, what if we just work on our group piece two days a week and the other two pieces one day a week?"

"Why?" Thad asked.

"Well, to be honest, I don't want to sing 'Teenage Dream'. I'd like to just exit the stage after our group number and then just wait off stage while the rest of you sing it. I wasn't here during its rise to fame and I feel uncomfortable singing it."

"That's your choice. We can't force you to sing if you don't want to and we're not going to remove you from the group or anything." Thad said. "So, you want to do 'Stand', the new group piece, exit the stage, and let the rest of the group sing 'Teenage Dream' without you?"

"Exactly. And I'd like to rehearse that way as well. Monday – 'Stand'. Tuesday and Wednesday – our group number. And Thursday – 'Teenage Dream'."

"I'd also like to suggest to the council that we consider singing 'Stand' at graduation since the song is uplifting and could be prefaced with a small statement about being out on our own for the first time and having the courage to stand when things get hard or something like that."

"I suppose that could work," David said.

"I just think that we are not considering how busy everyone is going to be in a couple of weeks. I know that a lot of us are taking AP classes and those two weeks before Nationals are the AP Exam weeks. We have Reading Week the week after we come back and then finals the next week. I just don't see us having time to learn a new song."

"He's right," Trent said. "The juniors and seniors in the group will be really busy. And that's not counting final projects or other things that people have to do for other groups they might be in."

"We'll bring it up for a vote tomorrow," David said. "And as far as I'm concerned, you don't have to sing 'Teenage Dream'."

"Thanks. And thanks for taking the time to come talk about this. I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

"No problem," David said. "You've had a lot of good ideas this year. We'll see you tomorrow at rehearsal."

Sebastian opened the door and they all left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt made it home at 9:00. He texted Sebastian quickly telling him that he'd call him later than anticipated. He parked in the garage and started taking everything into the house. He put his suitcase in the laundry room rather than drag it upstairs. He took everything else upstairs and took a quick shower. He grabbed a textbook he still needed to read and dumped it into the laundry basket.

He sorted the clothes downstairs and started the first load. He headed into the living room to do the reading, only to find Rachel sitting in the living room.

"Kurt?"

"Why are you here so late, Rachel? It's 9:30."

"I asked Sam to tell me when you were back and my dad drove me over here and Sam let me in. I wanted to talk to you. My dads and Finn know that I'm here. I told them I might end up sleeping on the couch if it got too late for one of them to come get me."

"You're not really making a lot of sense, Rachel. We haven't spoken in ages. Why now?"

"Did you open your letter?"

"No. I was going to do it later tonight after I got more of my schoolwork done and another load of laundry started."

"Oh. Back to why I came. Burt forced me and Finn to go to marriage counseling because nothing was working between the two of us."

"Not all that surprising."

"I know. You were against it."

"Because I didn't think you were ready. You're both really immature. And I'm not trying to be holier than thou or something, but you've seriously had everything you've ever wanted just handed to you pretty much, and that's not how real life works. You have so many eccentricities that Finn knew nothing about. How are you going to live in a small flat with only one bathroom Rachel? You can't make him go to someone else's place to use the bathroom or shower."

"I know. I know. It's just that I love him."

"I never said that I doubted your love for him. I just said I didn't think you were ready to be married."

"Anyway, your dad insisted on a counselor and I've been going by myself and with Finn. And you're right. My dads completely spoiled me. I'm realizing that from the counseling. At first I got angry. Eventually I tried to listen because I didn't want to lose Finn. He said he was going to move back home if I didn't get some help."

"I started taking some medicine for OCD. It seems to be helping. I never considered myself anything like Miss Pillsbury until I really started working through some things. I'm really sorry for how I've treated you. I don't know what in the world caused me to view you as my potential adversary. You're a guy. We would never audition for the same roles. At least the likelihood is somewhere less than 1% possible. Maybe if we were both auditioning for a voice acting role for a singing animal."

Kurt laughed. "I never could figure out why you treated me that way either. You latched onto Blaine like he was the best thing since sliced bread when I had been around with the same common interests for a long time. You WANTED to sing and perform with him. You'd have flashes of sanity and you'd sing with me and we were amazing. Like after the duets competition and in New York and last fall before the NYADA mixer."

"Yeah. That NYADA mixer was a trigger. It triggered a massive flair. My rituals developed rituals and I ruined _West Side Story_ for Mercedes and you. And God, that pact I made with Blaine, how absolutely moronic was that? Losing my virginity to be a better actress? I'm so sorry for what happened to you. That night when you sat there and had to recount it in front of your parents – that was what made me realize that I needed to listen to your dad – that I needed help."

"Well, I'm glad that you realized that you needed help."

"I know we can't just automatically be friends just because I've realized what terrible things I've done, but I would at least like to ask for a truce. Finn and I are trying to work through our issues, so I can't really promise that I can devote a lot of time to working out our issues right now."

"I get that."

"But I would like you to know how sorry I am. I always thought, well, I don't know. I mean I've had a therapist since I was younger, but obviously she wasn't doing her job. I really do want to be a performer, but I've got a lot of personal work to do too. I really don't want to lose Finn."

"I get that. Finn needs to figure himself out too. Does he like this counselor?"

"Yes. He says he does."

"That's good. Look. If you want to wait down here for a while longer, I'll go move the clothes to the dryer and go up and open my letter and come back down in about 30 minutes and we'll talk. Feel free to help yourself to a drink or some fruit or something in the kitchen."

"Alright. I'll wait."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Hey, Bas. Sorry it's so late. I came in to find Rachel waiting to talk to me. It's a long story and I'll tell you more tomorrow."

"That's a surprise, but okay."

He put the phone on speaker and laid it down. "So, here's the letter." Kurt took the scissors out of his drawer and opened it. He hesitated to unfold the letter. He eventually unfolded it and read it. "I didn't get in."

"That doesn't make any sense. Your audition was fantastic."

"She seemed to like it at the time. I'm going to call the school and ask for her to call me. I have nothing to lose by asking why I was rejected."

"That's true."

"I'll let you get to sleep now. I have Rachel downstairs waiting on me."

"I love you. Try not to let it get you down. Call me tomorrow, okay?"

"I will. I love you too. Good night."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt worked on the laundry for a bit and then went back into the living room, taking a glass of ice water with him.

He sat down on the couch on the opposite end from Rachel. She pulled her feet up and sat criss-cross on the couch facing him after he sat down.

"I didn't get in."

"Oh. That's surprising. She said such nice things at your audition."

"I know. There was no explanation in the envelope, so I don't have one to share with you."

"You don't seem very upset. More like you're just really annoyed."

"I am annoyed. I did well. She seemed please, but I was rejected. That's not going to make me happy."

"Of course, not. But you're not really upset."

"No. I didn't actually plan to go to NYADA, even if I got in."

"What?"

"I can't afford it, Rachel. Your parents must have put back a lot of money for you for college because I know that mine don't have $200k+ to pay for four years of tuition. Plus to live in New York City for four years would be another nearly $100k in rent and other expenses for an efficiency apartment near the school or about ¾ of that amount to live in a dorm for a little over 9 months out of the year. If my dad had that kind of money, I would have been able to stay at Dalton – last year and this year."

"I didn't think about that."

"You haven't thought about much of anything besides yourself in a long time."

"I know. So, what are you going to do?"

"I applied to another school that's ranked in the top five for musical theater and I got in there."

"That's good."

"You didn't say whether you got in."

"I did."

"Well, congratulations. I hope you'll be happy there. I've never wished for bad things to happen to you. I had high hopes for this year, but ever since the _West Side Story_ auditions, I've mostly just wanted for high school to be over. Dalton was a challenge academically and I really liked that. I came back to McKinley and other than pre-calculus and some stuff in US Government this semester, I haven't learned anything new this year. It's just been a lot of time-consuming work to do for no good reason since I already knew the material. And all of the rest of the drama just made being at McKinley unpleasant in general."

"I know I haven't done anything to give you a reason to forgive me or be my friend, but I'd like us to be able to be civil."

"I've been civil all along. I just avoided you as much as possible. Honestly, you're the one that's been rude to me. So, if you knock off the snide remarks and the continuous allegations of me helping the Warblers beat us, that would be a good start."

"Alright. You're right. I have been rude. I'll quit saying anything about you and the Warblers."

"And my final request is that you never mentioned me and Blaine getting back together. It's like some weird wish fulfillment on your part. Like you wanted Blaine to be your Disney prince and after he turned out to be 100% gay, you wanted him to be your partner for everything except sex. You had Finn for that."

"Kurt, that sounds awful."

"Maybe it does, but think about it for a few minutes. If Blaine had been bi and the two of you had dated, you would have never gone back to Finn last year. Blaine could offer you what Finn can't – the combination of 'best gay' and boyfriend. Blaine has a lot of the same interests as you. There would have never been a conflict over what movie to watch. He would have happily listened to Broadway music. He would have taken tap dancing lessons and tango lessons and any performance type of lessons with you. For you, Blaine was the whole shebang. He's a decent dancer, not hip hop or whatever, but that's not your style either. He has the charisma and charm to match your stage presence. I feel like you wanted to keep him around, and a good way to do that was for him to be with me."

"I guess I never thought about it from your perspective. You're like my brother or my cousin. I don't see you in a romantic way at all."

"Obviously, I'm not attracted to you romantically either. But that's not true when it comes to Blaine. You WERE attracted to him. You asked him out on a date."

"He's really cute."

"Obviously I agreed with you on that point. He loved the attention. You just never gave the two of us the chance you gave him. You didn't learn to act like you had a romantic interest in me. You couldn't get over the hump of me being your nemesis, whereas somehow, he was your accomplice, your partner. We could have had that and we did a few times, but then you'd go back to pushing me off the ladder and clawing your way to the top by pushing me down."

"The election."

"Yes, the election. And _West Side Story_. When they wanted to double-cast Maria, you could have stood up for me and said, 'That's a great idea. Kurt and Mercedes could play the roles one weekend and we can extend the run of the show to a second weekend when Blaine and I can play Tony and Maria.' You knew that Mercedes and I could have played a couple in love. You knew that she had a crush on me way back and that she was capable of seeing me as a romantic partner even though you couldn't. And that's something you're going to have to get over. You realize that right?"

"I know."

"One day, you'll get cast with a male lead that you can't stand or who you find completely and utterly unattractive and you're going to have to ACT like you love him. When they laughed at me, they should have been laughing at YOU. You were the one who couldn't act like you were in love with me. I leaned in to kiss you with no hesitation. You're the one that balked. But I was the one laughed at."

"You're right. I was the one that ruined the scene. I'm the one that caused the group to split. Obviously Sugar just needed music training because she's not horrible now. I changed the Glee Club's first rule that everyone was welcome and when I rejected Sugar, she started a new group. I behaved badly and Mercedes quit the play and went with Sugar. Then Santana and Brittany left too. I stuffed the ballot box and left the club with only two girls."

"And we pulled it off without you."

"You did. Tina was really good. Quinn did a great job too."

"Your desire to remain at the top of the heap has caused a lot of problems in Glee Club. You hurt Sam last year. I mean for someone who was supposedly so determined to protect Sam from the target that would be painted on his back by singing with me back in November, you two sure sang a different tune when you 'outed' him for supposedly having a three-way with me and Quinn. His safety didn't seem to be a concern of yours anymore."

"Oh, God. You're right."

"You never thought about that? You took Finn out to spy and then you took photos and it ended up spread all over the school that he was sleeping with me and with Quinn and you didn't think how that would affect him? You confronted me and I told you that you were wrong. You didn't even try to figure out what was really going on. You just streamrolled forward with your version of the truth anyways. You just wanted Finn. And Quinn had him."

"I need to apologize to Sam too."

"You probably have a lot of people to apologize to. You've been a self-centered diva bordering on bitch for quite a while. Think WAY back to our first show. When April wasn't going to perform the second song and you swept in and took the lead when you hadn't been to any practices. What about Santana? She's every bit as good as you on a song like that. She came to every practice. She should have taken April's place."

"You're right."

"I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. You keep agreeing with me."

"The counseling has made me spend a lot of time in self-reflection. The counselor straight up told me that I was going to lose Finn and be a divorcée at 17."

"Well, I'm glad you're listening to someone finally. So, are you and Finn planning to move to New York after graduation?"

"No. Actually I have to get a job and work all summer. Finn's going to have to get a second job too, during the week. My dads aren't going to cosign a lease with us if we haven't saved up the money for the deposit. They said that if we haven't worked out our differences and decided to stay together or get a divorce by August that I have to defer my enrollment at NYADA for a year. And I'm pretty sure that Madame Tibideaux won't defer my enrollment."

"I'm honestly not sure how you got in to start with. You choked, Rachel. But as you saw, I wasn't actually surprised at all. Somehow you shove your way to the top every time. I killed my audition. She praised my performance, but you got in after choking. And I was rejected after doing well. It was just like _West Side Story_ all over again. Your audition was not better than Mercedes' was. Blaine's audition wasn't better than mine. But you two ended up as the leads and I was an inconsequential non-singing, non-dancing character."

"I don't know what to say."

Kurt took his phone out and opened the email from Trevor and downloaded his videos from that morning. "Watch these. I was asked this morning to perform these two songs with no preparation and no actual warm up time. Basically a cold audition situation." Kurt handed her his phone. "I'll be right back." He went to deal with the laundry again and came back after he had hung up the load of clothes in the dryer.

She was still listening. When the second recording ended, she handed the phone back. "You blew the note on purpose."

"I did."

"Both of those were excellent. So, you had no idea you were going to be asked to sing and you just blew those two songs out of the water?"

"Yes. Look, I accept your offer of a truce since I wasn't the one doing anything to you to start with. It's you who has to change. We have five weeks of school left. That gives you five weeks to prove that this 'new Rachel' is real."

"I also want you to know that I called Blaine and I asked him about what you said that night. I just couldn't allow myself to believe that it happened the way you said it did."

"And?"

"And he admitted that it was true. He also said that he had made a promise to you to not drink anymore until he was old enough to drink legally."

"Actually, he just said, 'I'll stop drinking.' He didn't give an age, but alright. So, he told you the truth. Did he also admit to you that the information he was telling you about Sebastian was nothing but rumors?"

"He said that Sebastian is friends with the members of the Warblers' council and several other Warblers. He said that the things he had told me were the rumors from fall semester and that the only rumor going around the school now is that he is secretly engaged because he came to school back in February wearing a ring on his left ring finger. And now that he's been seen with you and you're wearing a matching ring, that rumor was pretty much confirmed. Other than that, he's not been able to dig up any dirt on Sebastian."

"That's because there's no dirt to dig up. Sebastian is a sweetheart. Ask Carole. She has absolutely no reason to lie to you. He's such a sweetie. She actually calls him that if you pay attention. He cooks for me and with me. He plays card and board games with me and my parents. He plays MarioKart with me and Sam and Finn, well Finn before you turned him against Sebastian. They were getting along fine, you know. Finn was really okay with him being here. Then he slowly got colder and colder toward him. That was your doing. Even if you get divorced, Finn will always be my stepbrother and he is family. Instead of trying to get to know Sebastian, you relied on hearsay. You need to tell Finn that, if you haven't already."

"I will."

"He's so sweet with kids. Stevie, Stacey, and Sarah all love him to pieces. He's a straight A student who's is well liked. My dad likes him. Seriously, my dad let him move in with us and with me. You know my dad is like the most protective guy and he trusts Sebastian. And yet, you made my own brother believe bad things about him. Not just bad things, lies. That's just the crux of it. You had no reason to hate Sebastian so much. Hating him because he's not Blaine? He's not Blaine and he's never going to be Blaine, which is a good thing in my opinion. You know Sebastian's been sleeping in my bed for nearly four months and he's NEVER overstepped my personal boundaries. Never once have I ever even had to tell him 'no', much less fight my way free while screaming 'no'. He genuinely likes me for me. He loves me. You spread lies and tarnished someone's reputation."

"I'll tell Finn that Blaine was spreading rumors and lies. I'll apologize to Sebastian the next times he's here."

"I'll believe all of these changes when I see them. Remember that what you know about that night about what happened between me and Blaine is NOT to be repeated to anyone, ever. Until that night my dad point blank asked me, only four people knew. I expect that the 7 people who know now will be the end of that knowledge being shared. Blaine and I have come to an understanding. Don't meddle anymore. I don't know what else to say. I'd like to believe this change of heart is all for real, but then you said that your dads gave you an ultimatum. I know you're convinced Madame Tibideaux won't accept a request for a deferral. So, that taints my view on how much of this is for real and how much of it is so that you get your way and still get to go to New York this fall."

"I understand that. I have to prove myself."

"Yes, you do. Now, if you're staying that's fine. You can sleep here on this couch or you can go downstairs and sleep on the sofa bed, but I have to go to sleep. I had homework left to do, but I'll just hope I can bluff my way through tomorrow. At least I already finished what written work I had. And I have to be at school tomorrow morning an hour early for the guys' song rehearsal."

"I'll sleep here. Can you drop me off at home on the way to school?"

"Sure."

"Good night, Kurt."

"'Night, Rachel."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt grabbed everything from the laundry room and went upstairs. He tried to fall asleep, but his mind was still racing. Eventually he drifted off, only to be awakened by nightmares again. This time, he picked his phone up and called Sebastian.

"_Kurt?"_

"_Will you sing to me?"_

"_Of course. You're crying. Are you okay?"_

"_I'm not hurt."_

"_Nightmares."_

"_Yeah."_

"_I love you. Lie back down. I'll sing and you go back to sleep."_

Kurt turned his phone on speaker and laid it on the shelf next to the bed and lay back down and listened to Sebastian sing. He fell back asleep with a smile on his face.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt's phone rang at 6:05, which made him jump since no one ever called that early. He picked it up and answered.

"Good morning, Bas."

"I just wanted to make sure that you're feeling better this morning."

"I am now that you called."

"I know you have to get ready for school because you have to be there early, but I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking about you. I'm glad you called me."

"Me too. I fell back asleep after you sang to me. And I do have to get going. I need to eat something first, but I have to leave early to take Rachel home on the way to school. She slept here last night after our very long talk which involved a lot of apologizing on her part. I'll tell you more later."

"That's weird."

"It was weird. Very. Call me this afternoon or evening. Dad extended my 'nothing but the books' afterschool-only job duties to this week as well, so that will help. Rachel kept me from getting the rest of the stuff done that I needed to do last night. I'm behind on the homework front. I miss you and I love you."

"I'll call you later. I love you too. Bye."

Kurt put his Cheerio uniform on, the short-sleeved version, put all of his stuff in the backpack and headed downstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt found Rachel and Carole sitting at the island eating breakfast together. Rachel was eating a banana with peanut butter because there weren't a lot of other choices. He found a plate of eggs waiting for him on the counter.

"Thank you, Carole."

"You're welcome, honey. Congratulations on winning Friday. You did a great job."

"Thanks. Is Dad still here?"

"No, he flew back last night. I just got back from Columbus. I slept at Trina's, but I work today, so I'm getting ready to head out. Rachel told me that the two of you talked last night."

"We did."

"Well that's good. I've gotta go. I'll be home for dinner." She put her plate in the dishwasher and headed out through the dining room.

"Thanks again for breakfast."

He heard the front door shut.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Sure. I meant what I said last night. I know it will take time for you to believe me."

"It will. I wish I could give you a different answer, and while you've never gone to this level of apologizing before, you have previously started behaving decently only to stab me in the back again later. So, time will tell. My trust won't be re-earned easily this time. I've developed a sense of self-respect this year that I've never had. I won't be losing that. I won't return to the doormat I had become."

"I get that. I'm ready when you are. Obviously, I have to go home and get ready for school. I'm not going in my pajamas."

"You have before," he teased.

"Ugh. Don't remind me."

Kurt put his plate in the dishwasher and grabbed his stuff. He texted Sam who texted back saying that the guys' practice had been cancelled. With Carole going to work and Burt being in DC, there was no one to watch Sarah before school. Kurt didn't say anything and opened the door and locked it behind him. He hit the remote for the locks on the Navigator. He tossed his Cheerio backpack in the backseat and got in the front.

Rachel was already buckled in. "I won't say anything at school about your NYADA letter."

"It won't matter. Whether you say something or not, people can read you, Rachel. When you don't go yammering on about how we're going to make it big, people will figure out that I'm not going with you. So, unless you keep quiet about getting in, about getting our letters, people will figure it out. I'm going to ask you to give me at least today. Say nothing. Act as if you haven't gotten your letter. Wait, does Finn know already?"

"Of course."

"Well, then never mind. He'll tell people that you got in. Just never mind." Kurt stopped talking.

A few minutes later, he pulled up in front of Rachel's house and she got out without saying anything. Kurt pulled away once she was inside. He headed to the Lima Bean, then changed his course and got in the drive-thru line at McDonald's. He bought a coffee and pulled over in a parking lot a few blocks down. He grabbed one of his textbooks and did some more reading before he headed to school.


	27. Chapter 27

When Kurt got to school, he went to Miss Pillsbury's office immediately. Fortunately she didn't have anyone in her office. He stepped inside, shut the door, and sat down.

"Good morning, Kurt. What can I help you with?"

"Do you have someone else coming to see you during first period?"

"I don't."

"If I stay will you write me a pass for missing first period?"

"I will."

"I want to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Is my student file private?"

"Yes, of course, Kurt."

"But the teachers have access, correct?"

"Well, to your main file, yes. But anything that we might have discussed in my office is private and not in your main file."

"I am allowed to view either of the files?"

"You're 18 and I don't know of any legal reason that could be used to keep you from viewing them, why?"

"We're any of my records requested from NYADA? There would be a record of requests, right?"

"Yes. Any school requesting information would have had to send a written request."

"Any responses from the school would have to be logged as well, right?"

"Yes, they should be."

"I'd like to see my file please."

"Alright. Just wait here and I'll go get the part that is down in the main office." She returned a few minutes later with his file and handed it to him after she had shut the door.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She stacked and restacked and straightened brochures while Kurt looked through the file.

"There are some requests in here, but I don't see a copy of any responses. Is there a way to find out if the requests received a response?"

"Let me see what you're referring to."

He laid the file folder on her desk so the papers would stay in order. "Here in January, there is a request for updated grades from the fall semester from NYADA."

"Let me check." She used her computer to look at his computerized file. "Yes, there's a record of your updated transcript being sent to NYADA in January."

"Alright." Kurt placed that request face down in the left hand stack in the file folder. "What about this?" He handed her a letter from NYADA requesting a letter from his music director that was dated around the time he and Rachel were notified of their audition dates. "It doesn't specify Mr. Schuester by name. Was this request forwarded to him and did he respond?"

She looked to see if anything was noted in his file. He flipped through the file folder again to see if maybe it had been placed in the file out of order.

"I forwarded that request to Will myself, so I know he knew about it. I don't see an official response in your file here. If there was one, a copy of it should have been placed in that file you're looking at, but give me a few minutes. He has planning period right now. I'll go get him to email me his response. I won't tell him that you're in my office. I'll just tell him that I'm going through senior's files and yours is missing some information."

"Okay." He looked through his file again. There wasn't really much of note in it considering how much bullying had gone on. There wasn't even a record of the incident with Karofsky. The Karofsky family must have asked for the information to be removed during their appeal to the school board. There was no mention as to a reason for his transfer to Dalton. A copy of his fall semester grades from Dalton was really the only indicator that he had gone there. It was sort of disheartening to see so little evidence of his existence for the last four years. His National Honor Society information, his semester grade reports, and the requests for more information for college applications were pretty much it.

She came back in looking flustered. She shut the door again and took a seat at her desk and opened up her email.

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure. Will was very reluctant to send me the information. I told him that as a representative of the school that his response belonged in your file to show that the school did respond."

She sent the correspondence from Mr. Schuester to Madame Tibideaux to the printer and reordered them, stapling the request and the response together and handed them to Kurt.

"I…" she started to speak and then stopped.

Kurt noted that Mr. Schuester had waited until the day of the deadline from the original request, which was two days after their auditions, to actually send his response in. He started to read.

_Madame Tibideaux,_

_Kurt has never shown the skill needed to play a lead in any of our theatrical productions. He is best suited for fill work for harmonies as he has a great ability to blend with whoever he sings with, allowing those in the lead to shine. His flexible range makes him a great member of the group allowing us to fit him in wherever we are missing a harmony. _

_To answer your question as to his suitability for NYADA, my answer would be no. He is great at what he does, but his acting range is limited and his personal mannerisms are difficult to minimize when viewing him for casting. _

_He has allowed personal issues to interfere with his commitment to the group more than once, one time resulting in our group having to find a new member to replace him just one week before a scheduled competition. _

_He has also been known to challenge our best singer and waste class time attempting to prove his skill. _

_You requested additional video or audio files that might highlight his recent performances. We do not regularly record classroom performances, so I do not have any to offer you. _

"Oh, my God. He totally sabotaged my admission to NYADA. I know that you can't tell me what he wrote about Rachel, but can you go look in her file and see if his letter about her is in there?"

"I'm not sure where that falls in the category of reasonable requests, but I will go look and give you a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer."

He waited for her to come back and read through the letter again while she was gone.

"Yes."

"So, he printed his response that he sent in for Rachel and put it in her file, but didn't put what he had written about me in mine."

"It seems so."

"I actually came here for another reason as well. I wanted to thank you, but also admonish you, if you're willing to listen."

"Alright."

"I eavesdropped last fall outside your window when you, Artie, and Coach Beiste were discussing the casting for the play."

She nodded.

"You defended me at first, but then you let Coach Beiste's effeminophobic statement stand unchallenged. When I brought Rachel in to do the scene, Artie laughed when I announced what we were going to do, then Beiste joined in during the scene itself. And when she refused to kiss me, the three of you laughed and considered me to be at fault for the scene being ruined. You considered my acting to be lacking when she was the one that couldn't get in character and kiss me. As Juliet, it was her job to pretend to be in love with me. I leaned in to kiss her without reservation, but she balked. Yet, the three of you laughed at me."

"You're right. That was uncalled for on our parts. And I do see what you mean about it being Rachel who was out of character by refusing to kiss you."

"I auditioned with a song that wasn't from the musical. That's how it's supposed to work. You do realize that Blaine should not have auditioned with a song from the show, right? Maybe you don't, but anyway, the only reason to audition with a Tony song is to impress upon the directors the memory of seeing the person as Tony. Blaine knows a multitude of songs that he could have sung, but he very specifically chose a song that made the three of you see him as Tony. At least you gave Rachel and Mercedes a chance to reaudition, but you should have made them sing the same song, something in the style of the musical. That was you could have compared apples to apples. Allowing them to chose the song gave them the opportunity to show of their strengths, not their ability to sing the style of music in the show."

Kurt pulled his phone out and placed it on the papers in the file.

"I know you have your own earbuds, plug them in and I'll press play." He waited for her to be ready and he held the phone where she could watch.

She watched and when it finished, she unplugged her earbuds, put them back in their travel pouch, and put them back in her bag. "Kurt, that was really good."

"That was me yesterday with no advance warning. I was put on the spot and asked to sing that song."

She nodded.

"You need to examine your own effeminophobia. I am gay, but I am not a girl. I stood up to Mr. Schue before Sectionals and Regionals so I would be given an opportunity to have a lead part. It seems that my performances at those events didn't warrant any consideration or his approval, despite the fact that we won both competitions. Plus, I know for a fact that he could have gotten videos of both of those events to send to Madame Tibideaux – if he had wanted to. But in all honesty, if he had sent those, they would have undermined the raving review of Rachel that I am sure he sent in. Since she had been suspended during Sectionals, she didn't sing. And I beat her in a class vote to sing the solo at Regionals. She was only in one number at Regionals, our group number and she wasn't really highlighted."

"I am at a loss as to what to say, Kurt. I can't apologize for anyone's actions but my own. I did not check up on Will's response. If I had seen this beforehand, maybe I could have done something, but after the fact, I'm not sure what I can do about it."

"I'm not sure either. But this is wrong and you know it. Factually, it's inaccurate. Favoritism is wrong as a teacher, but we all know that teachers are human. But to submit factually wrong information in a letter like that – I think it might be grounds for a libel case. Although, he has worded it in a way that probably shields him from that since it is very vague."

"What can I do for you at this point, Kurt?"

"Analyze your own behavior. Think about how you may have contributed to the bullying I have received here at this school. You and Mr. Schuester and the other teachers are supposed to be role models. And you especially are supposed to be a guide for good behavior. And once you've analyzed your behavior, counsel yourself into figuring out how to change it. Students at this school deserve respect, not bullying from the staff. Maybe consider bringing in someone to teach the staff how to be less biased and prejudiced. Also, I want you to print a second copy of that letter for me to have personally."

"I understand about being a good role model. I wasn't, and that I can apologize for. I am sorry for my behavior during the auditions. In regards to the auditioning process and being a director, none of us had any idea what to do."

"I can accept that as a valid response, but once you agreed to take the position, it fell on you to figure out how to do it right. Surely there's some type of _How to Direct High School Plays_ _for Dummies_ book out there. Or websites. As the adult directors, you and Coach Beiste should have sought out the educational material that you needed to learn to do your jobs well and to be good role models for Artie as the student director."

"You're right. Before I agree to do something like that again that is outside my field of knowledge, I will look into resources to see whether I am interested in learning what I need to know to fulfill my obligations to the position."

"Thank you."

She sent another copy to her printer. "Anything else?"

"I'd like another response to be sent by you this time. Not because it will change anything, but because it is right."

"What do you want me to write? I don't have the appropriate training to write a recommendation of your musical skills."

"No, but you can correct the factual mistakes in the letter. I have the video files of Sectionals and Regionals and one of me as Riff Raff stored in my iTunes account. Oh, and I have a video of the Cheerios at Nationals. If I go to the library, I can email them to you."

"Okay." She pulled out her pass notepad and wrote a pass for him to go to the library for 15 minutes. And on a second sheet of paper she wrote her official school email address.

He went to the library and returned to her office after sending her the files. He shut the door and sat back down.

"Now, what?" she asked.

"Well, let's look at the letter." He picked it up and read through it again. "How about you just respond to what he wrote?"

They discussed the inaccuracies in the original response for a while.

"How about this?" She began typing and reading out loud as she went.

_Madame Tibideaux,_

_I am writing as the school counselor from William McKinley High School. It was brought to my attention that some of the information in a letter sent to you about Kurt Hummel was not completely accurate. I am writing to correct those inaccuracies. _

_Kurt Hummel has never allowed personal issues to interfere with his participation in Glee Club, which I will point out is an afterschool club at McKinley. Our students do not earn credits for participating in afterschool clubs. Participation is purely voluntary. _

_The incident referred to where the Glee Club had to get a last-minute replacement for Kurt took place in the fall of 2010 and was due to the fact that Kurt's life had been threatened by a fellow student. Kurt transferred to a different high school when the student who threatened him was allowed to return to McKinley after only three days of suspension. You'll notice that his transcript supports this fact. He returned to McKinley after the situation had been dealt with. As a side note, the set list for that competition had not been chosen and although Kurt leaving the school did cause the group to be short one member to compete, finding a willing student replacement took only one day and did not inconvenience anyone in the group since no preparations had taken place yet._

_The second incident was this spring when Kurt was given only one day's notice to attend three days of additional two-hour rehearsals after the usual one-hour practice after school. He is the afternoon manager at his place of employment and one day's notice was not enough warning for a replacement for his shifts. Kurt is a hard worker and typically works 20 hours a week. Also, the event that the rehearsals were being held for was not an official show choir competition. It was a single song performed by the group. Kurt's non-participation in the event did not negatively impact the members of the group because the piece had not yet been arranged or rehearsed. It was arranged without him from the start._

_I have attached four files. The first shows Kurt playing Riff Raff in a club-only performance of _The Rocky Horror Picture Show _from the fall of 2010. The second is a video of Sectionals 2011 where he sang a split lead. The third is a video of Regionals 2012 where Kurt sang a solo ballad number. A member of the AV Club recorded the competitions, so the quality is not at a professional level, but Kurt's contributions can be clearly seen and heard. The fourth is a file of Kurt performing with the Cheerios, our cheer squad, during the National Championship, which they won._

_I regret that I did not see the initial response to your request for additional information in time to make these corrections known to you by the deadline indicated in the request._

"What do you think?" she asked.

"It sounds fine to me. Thank you. Can you please email that to Madame Tibideaux right now?"

"Sure." She double-checked it for any spelling or grammar mistakes, signed the bottom and sent it.

"Excuse me just a minute." Kurt took his phone out, looked at the request to find the phone number, and called Madame Tibideaux's office.

"Good morning. My name is Kurt Hummel and I was wondering Madame Tibideaux has any time her schedule today when I could speak to her for 10-15 minutes."

"Yes, I can hold." He watched Miss Pillsbury collect two printed sheets and place one with the copy of Mr. Schue's letter in his file and place the other one on her desk. He picked it up, nodded, and put it with his copy of Mr. Schue's letter in the chair next to him.

"Yes, I'm here. At 11:15. Yes, that would be great. Hummel. H-U-M-M-E-L. Great. I'll call back."

"You'll need a pass to make that call."

"I will. I'd like to make the call from my SUV though. So, I'll pass by here and go out there and come back in so you can sign my pass to go back to class."

"Not a problem." She tore off one pass to go to first period late and another pass to leave class at 11:05 and handed them to him. "I hope the letter I sent helps you in some way."

"Merely to prove a point. I'm not going to ask to be reconsidered. I'm not going there anyway. The point is that I don't like being lied about."

"I can understand that." He closed the file folder and left it there. He put the copies of the letters in a folder, put it back in his backpack, and went back to class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

During the passing periods that morning, the hallways were pleasant and he was greeted with a few high fives from some of the girls he walked past. He figured they were Cheerio wannabes. He did his best to pay attention in class and when he did get called on in Government, he at least knew the answer to the question. He wrote down his assignments and turned in everything he needed to. Eventually 11:00 rolled around and he showed his pass to his teacher and headed down the hall, waved at Miss Pillsbury, headed to the Navigator.

He rolled the windows down a bit and took a deep breath and called. He was transferred to her.

"Mr. Hummel, what can I do for you today?"

"I was hoping that you had had a chance to check your email this morning."

"I have not."

"Would it be possible for you to see if you've received an email from Emma Pillsbury."

"I will check." There was a pause. "Yes, Mr. Hummel. I did receive it."

"Could you please read it? I know my time with you is limited, but I am willing to wait to speak with you afterwards."

"As you wish."

He could hear her clicking to open the email. She had laid the phone down. He could faintly hear music. It was a long wait. She eventually picked the phone back up.

"Please give me a few minutes. I am going to have my secretary reschedule my next phone call."

He waited and she returned to the line.

"Mr. Hummel, what is it that I can do for you?"

"Nothing really. I didn't call to grovel or to ask you to reconsider my application. I was merely attempting to correct the inaccuracies of the first letter sent to you."

"I see."

"I thought that maybe in the future, there might be a way for you to request information from more than one source or somehow verify that information being sent in is true. I am sure that I am not the only student who wasn't their choir director's favorite to apply to a music program."

"Probably not."

"I also wanted to ask if there was anything besides the false information that you were given that caused you to not choose to offer me a place. You seemed pleased with my performance at my audition."

"I was. You gave a magnificent performance of that song, but when I received the reply, which I have pulled up and I am looking at, I felt perhaps that I had seen your only side. That portraying a flamboyant gay boy was your only shtick – a lot of pizzazz without much depth."

"I see."

"But I see from the video of you as Riff Raff that I was wrong. Tell me about transferring schools."

Kurt recounted the story of what had happened without mentioning any names.

"Was this the first time you had been bullied?"

Kurt didn't manage to keep from chuckling. "Sorry. No, nowhere near the first. Lima is not an accepting place. If you got the impression that I perform songs like that frequently, I don't. McKinley and Lima are not gay-friendly places. As you've seen, even the teachers are effeminophobic and biased. Anyway, that doesn't really make a difference. Was there something about my application or my audition itself that made you decide not to offer me a spot?"

"No. The letter I received played a significant role in my decision. As you are well aware, this school is very selective. I have only 20 spots with limited flexibility to take any more than 20 new students. I do my best to determine which of the applicants are the most dedicated. When I read that you had left your group in a lurch twice and that you had never gotten a lead role in a production, I was left unimpressed to be honest. I do have one question for you."

"Yes."

"I did not see Miss Berry in the Sectionals video."

"That's true. She did not perform."

"And she did not have a lead at Regionals."

"Also true."

"Why is that?"

"She was banned from participating in Sectionals due to disciplinary action. I would rather you get the details from Miss Pillsbury. As for Regionals, we held a competition for the solo. This time, the group voted. I won. So, I chose the song and made it an all-guys number with me on lead rather than just an individual solo."

"I see. So, in previous competitions, the lead was chosen by your director?"

"Yes. This fall I approached him and asked him to consider me to sing after Rachel had been banned. He turned me down. I insisted that he give me a chance. It turned out well, I thought. This spring, I vocally disagreed with his choice to just hand the solo to Rachel again. I suggested the competition which allowed any member of the group to perform and suggested a fair voting system."

"So, your performance was chosen by the other members?"

"Yes."

"Did Miss Berry compete for the spot?"

"Yes."

"I see. So, the statement that you've wasted class time trying to show Rachel up is inaccurate as well?"

"I know what he was referring to and that particular time, I did intentionally mess up."

"Explain please."

Kurt explained his actions. He concluded his explanation with, "He had dealt with enough vandalism as it was. I just couldn't make things harder for him. So, yes, that particular time, I did cause class time to be wasted by asking to be given a chance."

"I see. And when was this?"

"About 2½ years ago. It was before I really came out publicly. And I have not challenged her over a particular song since then."

"Well, Mr. Hummel, you have given me a lot to think about. This is my first year in this position, and I will regretfully admit that I did not consider a teacher sabotaging a student's potential admission to college. I read each of the 40 requests I got back as if they were 100% truthful. I will need to consider how to best address this issue in the future."

"I guess I can just be glad that the other school I applied to did not ask for a personal letter from Mr. Schuester."

"Where else did you apply?"

"The University of Cincinnati. When I did a lot of research about schools, I was impressed with the program."

"They have an excellent program there."

"Thank you for speaking with me. If you have any notes on my audition that you think would be helpful, please feel free to email them to me. I'm always looking to improve my skills. And as for how to tell who is lying or misrepresenting information, I wish you the best of luck in figuring out how to do that. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me."

"You're welcome, Mr. Hummel. I wish you the best at UC, if that's where you choose to attend."

"Thank you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt got out of the Navigator and headed into Miss Pillsbury's office and picked up a pass to go back to class. The bell rang for lunch about five minutes later. Kurt hurried to find Rachel. He pulled her aside.

"I need you to come with me."

"Alright. Why?"

"I'll tell you later."

She followed him to Miss Pillsbury's office.

"Rachel would like to request a copy of the letter that Mr. Schue sent to Madame Tibideaux."

"Is that true, Rachel?"

"Yes, please."

Miss Pillsbury had a concerned look on her face, but left the office. Kurt said nothing while she was gone. She came back with a copy. She handed it directly to Rachel.

"Thank you, Miss Pillsbury," Kurt said as he ushered Rachel back out of her office and down the hallway toward the library.

"Alright, what was that about? Why did I want a copy of this? Should I read it?"

"This is one thing I'm asking you to do. You said you were sorry. One thing you can do to prove that to me is to offer to let me read that letter. I can't ask you. You have to offer."

"Kurt, do you want to read this letter?"

"Yes. Thank you." He took it from her hands and read it and gave it back. "Go ahead. Read it. No, wait. Come with me outside first."

She followed him and got in the passenger seat, then started to read the letter. "This is just a nice long letter about me and the things I've done at school. The plays, my leads at competitions and stuff."

"Right." Kurt opened his backpack and pulled out the folder he had put his letter in. "You have to swear to me right now that you will not say anything about this unless I change my mind later and say that you can."

"Fine. I swear."

"I mean it, Rachel."

"I won't say anything. I swear."

"Not even to Finn."

"Not even to Finn."

"If my dad sees this… well, you'll see." He handed her the letter.

She read through it quickly since it was so short. "Oh, my God. He didn't."

"He did. Rachel, I've been telling you for years that you are not the apex of all things musical that you think you are. You are talented. That is a statement of fact. But Mr. Schue has been inflating your ego for years. He just gives you the leads. Honestly, Santana is better than you for some things. And Mercedes. And even Tina. You all have different types of voices and those voices sound good singing different types of music."

"That's really hurtful, Kurt. I mean it hurts to hear you say that they are better than me, but deep down I know they are at certain things. But you're right that I've gotten so used to being told I'm the best by his actions of always choosing me that being told something different seems wrong."

"You're going to have to get over that. You turn up your quills every time anyone says anything negative. A Broadway training school isn't for the faint of heart. I'm sure that you're bound to face a lot of criticism. That's probably the entire point of some of the classes – to be critiqued all semester to hone your skills and to learn to overcome harsh words and still be able to perform well."

"I hadn't thought about that. I just want to perform and be the best and NYADA is the best, so I wanted to go there."

"It's not actually ranked number one, but it is in the top 25 programs."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't do any research, did you?"

"Not really."

"Well, that's on you and we don't have all day. We need to go back inside. I just wanted you to see that Mr. Schue has played favorites all along."

"You don't think I deserved to get into NYADA."

"Is that a question or a statement?"

"A question."

"Then, my answer is 'no' based on your audition and your record for this year. Do I think you're talented enough to be there? Definitely. I have never, ever doubted your talent, Rachel." Kurt opened his door.

"Wait."

"What?"

"Here. I'm gifting you this copy of this letter. I don't want it. If I want another copy in the future, I'll go ask for one." She took out a pen and wrote at the bottom. "I, Rachel Berry, present this copy of this letter to Kurt Hummel of my own free will." She signed and dated it. "There. That way there can be no question as to how you got a copy of the letter."

"Thank you." He put both letters in the folder and left the folder in the backseat. "Let's go." He locked the doors after they were both out.

"Remember, not a word to anyone. This is a test of your acting skills. I don't know what I'm going to do, but Mr. Schue already knows that Miss Pillsbury read the letter. I don't want him to know that you and I read it too."

"Alright."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt stopped by Miss Pillsbury's office again on the way in.

"Yes, Kurt. Is there something else?"

"You know that my father called in excused absences for Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday."

"Yes. I did take that down."

"Can you please contact my teachers and request that I be given my list of assignments for the whole week today?"

"Yes."

"And I want some sort of assurance that I won't be held responsible for something they decide to throw in at the last minute. I am fed up with the last-minute preparation by the teachers in this school. At Dalton, I got a full semester syllabus for each course at the beginning of each semester. It makes a lot more sense for students to know what's expected of them than to throw out assignments willy-nilly. Maybe no one here cares. That's pretty much how I'm feeling today after everything else. But be that as it may, I am trying to maintain my GPA. So, I would like a complete list that cannot be added to after the fact."

"I'll do my best. And you'll be excused from any pop quizzes or in-class assignments. If you have teachers that attempt to give you a zero, let me know and I'll fix it."

"Thank you. I appreciate the fact that you are willing to learn and that you try hard. Teenagers don't expect adults to be perfect. But we do expect the ones who work with us to actually care."

"Thank you, I think."

"It was a compliment."

"Alright then. Thank you. I'll send that email out right now."

"Thank you. I'm going to go see if I can at least grab some juice before the bell rings."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went straight home after Glee. He had managed to remain calm and collected and kept his ice king mask to a low level despite feeling like reading the letter out loud in front of everyone.

He got home and Puck and Sarah showed up about 20 minutes later. He was in the kitchen finishing up a sandwich since he had skipped lunch.

"Hi Kurt! Will you play with me?" She wrapped her arms around him. Puck had already disappeared up the stairs.

"Sweetheart, I have a ton of homework to do. That's why I'm at home and not at work."

"Oh. Noah said he can't play with me either. I know he's being good by doing his homework like Uncle Burt told him to, but he doesn't have very much time to play with me now. She climbed up on the stool next to Kurt. She crossed her arms on the island and put her head down on them. "I hate that I had to move away from my friends. I have no one to play with here. When Noah was busy before, I went outside and played with the neighbors. There's no one to play with here and I hate it." She started crying.

"Sarah, look at me."

She looked up a little.

"It's not that I don't want to spend time with you. Really. If you can play quietly in my room or sit with me and read books, you can sit on my bed. I will just get in a lot of trouble at school if I don't turn my work in and my dad won't be pleased if I do poorly on my tests."

"I know. I'm not mad at you or Noah. I'm just sad. Really sad. My ma's not coming back. I know it. She never loved me or Noah. She says awful things when she drinks. And I know that Noah says that drinking makes people say crazy things, but she means what she says when she's drunk cause I heard her say the same things before when she wasn't drinking. She doesn't love us and she's never coming back." Sarah was bawling.

Kurt picked her up and put his paper towel in the trash. He carried her upstairs and knocked on their bedroom door.

"Sarah? What's wrong, Squirt? Did you get hurt?"

"Ma's never coming back." She wailed again. "I miss our house, Noah. I miss my friends. I don't have any friends here and you're too busy to play with me anymore. And Kurt said he can't play with me either." She continued to cry.

Noah motioned for Kurt to bring her closer. Kurt sat on the edge of the bed and Puck sat down on the side so that Sarah was in the middle.

"I don't know what to say about Ma, Squirt. I don't know where she is. No one does."

"I know. I'm just sad."

Puck wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I know, baby. I'm sad for us too. Some parents suck."

"Sam's parents are nice and so are Kurt's."

"That's true, but Sebastian's parents aren't nice either," Kurt said.

"I know, but he has friends."

Kurt nodded. "We're all working to make things better. Carole's being a good mom to all of us now."

"Kurt's right. She's doing everything she can to make sure this is a good place for all of us to live. Remember when we talked about being flexible?"

"Yes, but I'm tired of being flexible. I want someone to play with."

Puck laughed. "I know that it's hard to not to have anyone to play with. But how about this, I will do my homework as quick as I can and then we'll play."

"Okay."

"And since you have no homework, you can go downstairs and watch TV."

"Okay. You'll hurry though, right?"

"Yes, Squirt. I'll go as fast as I can. Now scoot down there so I can get started." He gave her a big hug.

She ran off.

"I think we need to get her set up some play dates soon. She needs some kids to play with," Kurt said. "Maybe you can just skip Glee on Tuesday afternoons and bring one of her friends home to play while Sam and I are at work."

"I'll work on it this week. Being a good student sucks. Now, I turn everything in and I still get C's."

"Yeah, yeah. You've been at it for three weeks. Try 12 years of it."

"No thanks."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Because Kurt was still in a foul mood and he wanted to prove a point, he answered every one of the short answer questions on the worksheet his English teacher sent home in French.

For pre-calculus, he wrote out the problem for number 10 and solved it in the space for problem number 1 on the worksheet. So, he did all of the problems, just in the reverse order they were supposed to be done.

He plagiarized his answers for his government worksheet directly from Wikipedia.

After he finished his homework coup, he did the rest of his work correctly. He just wanted to make a point to Miss Pillsbury. He spent the whole evening minus dinnertime working on everything. He needed to spend Tuesday evening packing the Navigator for their trip to the Smoky Mountains.

Sebastian called at 9:00 and Kurt talked to him briefly, but put off the conversation about Rachel until another time. He went back to work and around 11:00, he quit and went to sleep without showering.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He got up at 6:00, showered, dressed in jeans and a button down, no layers, nothing noteworthy. He finished up his reading and put his homework into two different folders. He headed off to school. Sam came bounding down the stairs as he was opening the front door.

"Hold up. I want to go with you." Sam plopped down on the stairs and put his shoes on and grabbed his bag and headed for the door. He jumped in the passenger seat and put his seatbelt on.

"Spill."

"No." Kurt pulled out of the driveway and headed to McKinley.

"Kurt."

"You kept things from me for months."

"I know. I'm sorry. I can't share what it was."

"Fine. I believe you. I know you keep your word to people. I won't push you. But I'm not sharing this right now. I haven't figured out what to do about it and I don't think you can keep your righteous anger in check."

"Oh, God. I'm going to feel righteous anger about it? That's not a good sign. I can still make that shirt you know."

Kurt laughed. "I know. And I appreciate the sentiment. I just want to get through the end of the school year."

"I have good news. Mr. Remington submitted a scholarship form for me and I got it. It's only $2000, but it will help. If I do well, it's renewable."

"That's amazing, Sam. Congratulations! That's really exciting."

"I was shocked. It's some art scholarship for first generation college students from rural areas."

"It's amazing is what it is. I'm really glad for you."

"I'm feeling like it might actually be real."

"It is real."

A few minutes later, they were parked and headed into the building. Kurt headed straight to Miss Pillsbury's office.

"Good morning, Kurt. What can I help you with?"

Kurt pulled out his folder of incorrectly done homework. "I want to show you my experiment."

"Experiment?"

"Yes. I'm fed up with the lack of attention that is paid to the students in this school. I'm conducting an experiment and you are my witness that I have done this intentionally – if I later decide to point out to the teachers what I've done."

"Alright."

"You'll see that I've answered all of the English worksheet questions in French. I copied my government answers, copy and paste, directly from Wikipedia, and I put the solved all of the problems for this worksheet in the wrong order, making each one technically incorrect."

"I see. And what are you trying to prove?"

"That the teachers give 100% scores to the students who appear to do their work and be concerned about it. And that they aren't really reading anything I turn in, which makes all of the time and effort I put into doing well a complete waste of time and energy on my part."

"I see."

"I'll be back tomorrow at lunch with the results." He walked out of her office and off to his first period class.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After Glee, he hurried home and started cooking. He baked banana bread, boiled eggs, and packed a box and a shopping bag with all of the things he had gotten for their trip while the bread was in the oven. Trail mix, dried fruit, yogurt, fruit, raw vegetables, a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, juice boxes, a few gallons of water, a pack of wet wipes, plastic cutlery, and a roll of paper towels went in the box. He put the box with all of the shelf-stable foods in it in the backseat of the navigator. He rearranged the fridge to make room for the shopping bag.

Once the oven beeped, he pulled the loaf pan out and headed to the garage again. He opened it up and packed the air mattress and the compressor in the back. He put the sleeping bags and the camping pillows in.

He went upstairs and packed a small suitcase with jeans, t-shirts and a couple of hoodies for each of them. He put their hiking boots in shopping bags as well to have a place to keep them in case they got muddy. He packed their bathroom supplies in a separate bag as well. He'd have to add their toiletries bag in the morning.

He ran back down and grabbed a few clothespins and took them back upstairs with him. He looked through everything carefully and decided that he was ready to go out and pick up the last of what they'd need and get back before dinner.

He made it to his hair appointment, made a quick stop at Goodwill and at WalMart, and then headed back.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He finished his homework and the packing before bedtime. He called Sebastian at 9:00.

Sebastian answered, but before he could even say anything Kurt started talking really fast.

"_I love you so much. I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I packed everything except the food in the refrigerator and I'm so ready to spend four days with you."_

Sebastian was chuckling. _"I love you too and I'm excited too."_

"_I got a new haircut."_

"_Really?"_

"_It's shorter than usual. I hope you like it."_

"_I'm sure it will look great."_

"_I have a little more homework. I can't wait to see you."_

"_Good night, mon étoile."_

"_I love you."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next day at lunch, Kurt walked into Miss Pillsbury's office and showed her the three assignments he got back with 100% marked on them.

"You can make copies of those if you'd like. Cover my name though. Even though you have my permission to use them to prove that the teachers aren't doing their jobs, I don't want my name on them."

"I'll be right back with these." She left to copy them and came right back. "Thanks for showing me these. This helps me understand your frustration a lot better. You put a lot of effort into the homework and the teachers don't bother to read it. You haven't learned anything by doing it if nothing you've done wrong is corrected. And you haven't learned that you did it right by not having it read. So, you're left in limbo. Lots of work with no feedback isn't appropriate teaching."

"Exactly. I'd rather be given a C and be told what was wrong about what I wrote, correct my mistakes, and then turn it back in and get an A. That would mean that I had learned something. I literally have no feedback in a lot of my classes. All of the English assignments are like that one. The tests are short answer or essay questions. And we write papers. None of them are marked up when I get them back. Does that mean that my grammar and ideas were perfect? I didn't make a single typing mistake? When I was at Dalton, my work had feedback on it. Things like, 'This is an interesting idea, but you got off track and need to refocus and get back to the main point of your essay.' Then I would rework the essay and turn the final draft in for my actual grade on the paper."

"That makes sense and is what I was familiar with when I went to school."

"I'd bet you good money that I could let Puck copy my English worksheet word for word and he wouldn't get the same grade that I do."

"That's really terrible."

"It is because it discourages students from even trying. When I heard students say, 'I always get Bs or Cs no matter how hard I try', I used to think they were just whining, but now I really do wonder. Do the teachers make decisions about us based on the way we talk, walk, dress, or the first few assignments we turn in? What is the deciding factor? I'll do the experiment with Puck so long as you back us up and he doesn't get in trouble for copying off of me."

"Sure."

He moved to the door and said, "Alright, we'll do it next week. He's not in my class, but he has the same teacher and the same assignments."

She nodded.

He opened the door and headed out to the parking lot. Sam was already waiting for him in the passenger seat.

"Ready to register?"

"I think will definitely make it feel real finally."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They stopped by a gas station. Kurt filled his tank up, bought a giant bag of ice and filled the cooler he had put in the back that morning, and then he headed home. Sam waited in the Navigator when Kurt went inside. He grabbed the refrigerated food and added it to the cooler and let Burt know they were there after he finished.

"Dad?" Kurt called out.

Burt came out of his office. "Ready, kiddo?"

"I think so. I think I've packed everything. I'm excited. I've wanted to go for a long time, ever since we went to Dollywood that time when I was 10. You only had two days off and it stormed the whole second day we were there, making it too dangerous to drive up to the mountaintop."

"I know. And now you've got someone to go places with you."

"I do. It's really nice. I can't even explain."

"I get it. Let's get going. I'll drive down and let you rest, since I'm sure you'll be driving the rest of the way tonight."

They went out the front door and headed toward the Navigator.

"Probably, but you'll be driving back tonight as well."

"Not as far as you will and I know the way back pretty well. You'll be driving in an unfamiliar area. Plus, I'll have Sam with me to keep me awake or trade places if need be."

"You win," he laughed and got in the back seat in the middle so he could talk to both of them more easily.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They talked all the way to the university, mostly about what Burt was doing in DC because Kurt kept redirecting the questions away from himself since he wasn't ready to discuss what was going on at school.

Burt dropped the two of them off where they needed to be to register. He drove to a nearby bookstore and ordered some coffee and did a bunch of reading on his laptop that he needed to do to understand some bills that were up for a vote soon.

Sebastian met Sam and Kurt about 10 minutes after they had gotten there. They all headed in and started the orientation meetings and then moved onto talking with their advisors and registering for classes. The three of them texted back and forth during the registration process and managed to all get into the same section of freshman English. Once they had finished everything they met up and walked to where Sebastian had parked. They headed off campus and met up with Burt for an early dinner.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They arrived at the title company's office a few minutes early. Sebastian moved what he had brought with him into the backseat of the Navigator before they headed inside. Sam moved to the car and read his government textbook while he waited for Burt to be finished.

Burt, Sebastian, and Kurt were led back to a conference room where they went through all of the details and signed a bunch of forms. They were given the keys to the house and a copy of all of the forms they had signed.

When they were done, Kurt had Burt take a picture of them with Sebastian's camera holding the papers and the keys. Burt put all of the paperwork in the car to take back with him to Lima. They slipped the keys onto Sebastian's key ring. Burt hugged both of them and headed back to Lima with Sam.

Sebastian and Kurt got in the Navigator and Kurt drove down the street just a block or so into an empty parking lot and parked under a tree. He undid his seatbelt, leaned over the console and reached for Sebastian, who leaned in and kissed him.

"It's ours."

"It's amazing."

They spent a few minutes kissing. Kurt pulled back and ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek. "This is going to be so much fun. Let's get going." He put his seatbelt back on and headed toward the highway.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They talked all the way there. Kurt did most of the talking since he was the one with so much to tell.

"What are you going to do?"

"I haven't decided. Mostly I just wanted to tell you. I may not end up doing anything. For the next four days, I just want to enjoy our time together. Explore and hike and go to that cool aquarium. I want to have fun with you."

"We will have lots of fun. We always do when we're together. We're almost there. Just one more turn off."

It was a little after 11:00 when they finally arrived at the campground. They checked in and took a map to find their spot. They got out and quietly slid the front seats up and put the cooler and box of food and their suitcase in the front. They folded the back seats down and used the compressor to fill the air mattress. Fortunately, they weren't too far from the bathhouse. They used a flashlight to avoid tripping on their way to use the bathroom before they went to sleep.

They climbed in the back and took their shoes off as they got in and put them in the front. Kurt hit the lock on the remote. They laid the sleeping bags out and zipped them together and climbed inside and took their clothes off inside so no one could see. They cuddled up together with Sebastian lying on Kurt.

"Mmm. Much better."

"I agree." Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm glad to be here with you."

"Me too."

After a few minutes of kissing, they were both sound asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt woke up at 6:30. He did his best to lie still, but since Sebastian was sleeping on him, Kurt's change in breathing woke him up.

"Kisses?"

"Of course. And then you can roll over and I'll be the big spoon and you can go back to sleep for a while. I was hoping I'd manage to sleep through my internal alarm clock."

"It's okay." He scooted up and scooted back a little, then changed his mind and lay down on top of Kurt and started kissing him.

"Now, this will not lead to you falling back asleep," Kurt teased.

"Maybe not, but I've been looking forward to making out with you all week." He continued kissing Kurt's neck and down his shoulder.

"Mmm. Well, I'm fine with this idea." He ran his hands along Sebastian's arms. "Just remember that we can't just jump in the shower."

"Not a problem." He kissed down Kurt's chest.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"See, now we're all worn out and ready for a nap," Sebastian said as he snuggled back against Kurt.

"You're right. You have great ideas." He ran his hands along Sebastian's chest and kissed the back of his neck. "I'm not sleepy though, but I am more than happy to lie here and hold you while you nap, if you want."

"Mmm. How about you just keep petting me and I'll just lie here and let you?"

Kurt chuckled. "You like being petted?"

"I love it. I never thought about it before you did it, but I love it when you do it. You always do it just right."

"Well, I'm glad you think so. I've certainly never petted anyone besides you."

Kurt moved his hand and started caressing Sebastian upper thigh.

"One day, let's do a spa day thing just the two of us. We'll pamper ourselves and massage and pet each other."

"All day?" Kurt asked.

"All day. We'll pack a cooler for our room the night before so we can stay in our room all day or we can do it in our new house after we move in and we can run around the whole house naked."

"We have to put blinds up on all of the windows first."

"Good point. Blinds are the first thing on our 'to buy' list."

Kurt had moved to petting Sebastian up and down his arm. "We could head to the showers before anyone gets up. We might be able to take a quick shower together."

"I hadn't thought about that. Shared showers, means showering alone."

Kurt pressed kisses into the back of his neck, but it's just a couple of days and we're sleeping together naked, so we'll be okay."

"I know, but you know what I like to do in the shower."

Kurt laughed. "I know what you like to do all the time."

"And what's that?"

"Me." He tickled Sebastian.

"Now, how is that letting me rest?" he asked between laughing.

"It's not. You don't want to rest. You just want me to pay attention to you, which I love to do."

"Well, you're right. On both accounts. I do want you to pay attention to me. And I want to pay attention to you. I'm selfish that way. I like it when it's just the two of us and I get you all to myself."

"Me too. But why don't we go ahead and put our jeans back on and grab some clothes and go shower?"

"Alright. It's a good idea. And I'm not going to go back to sleep. I'm too excited that we're together. We'll sleep tonight."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They came back and opened the back of the Navigator since the sun was partially up and they could see enough to tell what they were doing. Kurt deflated the air mattress enough that they could move the stuff from the front seats to the cargo area.

He pulled out their breakfast and set it aside along with some snacks and packed everything back up. He poured water for them into the stainless water bottles he brought with him and put them with the snacks.

"How will we get the towels to dry?"

"When we park we'll hang them from those," pointing to the suit hooks above the windows in the cargo area, "with the clothespins I brought."

He leaned over and kissed him. "Good plan, like all of your plans."

They pushed the front seats back again. They sat on the edge of the seats and slipped their flip flops off and put on socks and their hiking boots. They went back around to the cargo area. Kurt handed Sebastian the breakfast items and he took them up to the front. He packed their snacks and the water bottles in their small satchels. He put them behind his seat and got in the front. They ate and decided on their plan for the day after checking the weather again.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They drove to the pick-up point in Pigeon Forge and took the tour they had decided on. It was a 4-hour trip up to the top of the mountain. It was a clear morning, with no rain predicted. Kurt had originally planned to drive up himself, but after doing more reading, he decided that he'd rather let a professional do it and save himself the expense of needing to replace his break pads much earlier than he was planning for. Plus, they talked about how it would be a lot more fun if they could both enjoy the scenery rather than one of them having to focus entirely on not driving off the edge of a mountain.

They opted to get some coffee since they were early. They sat in the parking lot holding hands and drinking their coffee and talking. There was a small group since it was so early in the day on a Thursday during the off-season between spring break and the end of school. Once they were able to get on the tour bus, they picked seats on the left as the walked down the aisle. Kurt slid to the inside and Sebastian sat next to him. They held hands and waited for everyone to get on.

The trip up was beautiful. They didn't talk on the bus much, but they spoke French the entire time. The bus stopped at several points and let them off to look around and take pictures. They took pictures of each other and several selfies and Sebastian took quite a few nature photos at every stop. They climbed the path to get to the overlook at the highest point. When they got to the platform edge, Kurt stepped closer to Sebastian and wrapped his arm around his waist.

"_It's beautiful."_

"_It really is. I'm glad we waited to come. The trees are all budding and green. If we had come earlier, they would have been leafless."_

Kurt took a couple of selfies of them together. Sebastian took quite a few photos and managed to get a couple of photos with his camera where they were in the shot.

He put his camera back in his bag and wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders. Kurt put his arm back around Sebastian's waist.

"_I want to go on lots of trips like this with you."_

"_Me too." _

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got back to Pigeon Forge, they headed to Mellow Mushroom Pizza, which had sounded like a fun place to eat when they looked through online guides to the area. They enjoyed themselves and took a selfie in front of all of the lava lamps in the fireplace. They decided to take a risk and they ordered a Holy Shiitake pizza and split it. It wasn't like any other pizza they'd ever had, but they both really loved it.

After they ate, they moved the Navigator and parked near one of the trolley stops and spent the rest of the afternoon in Pigeon Forge looking through shops and enjoying themselves. They stopped in a fudge shop and tried several types of fudge and decided to stop on the way home and buy a few pieces to take home to share with everyone. Around 6:00, they decided to head back to the campsite.

The inside of the Navigator had heated up quite a bit during the daytime. They drove with the windows down to cool it out a bit before the got back to the campground. They pulled back into their spot and put the back windows up. They went to the bathroom, came back and assembled their dinner. They deflated the air mattress a bit more so they would have room to sit in the back and eat. They took their boots off and climbed in and ate. They cleaned up and Sebastian slipped his flip flops on and dumped their trash.

While he was gone, Kurt pulled out some card games that he had packed with the dry food. Sebastian got back in and saw what he had and laughed.

"You think of everything don't you?"

"Well, neither of us were thrilled with the idea of spending time with the potential bears in the area by walking around at dusk. I also brought my laptop, a few movies and an adapter for the cigarette lighter to charge the laptop while we drive, if you'd rather watch a movie.

"You are definitely as fabulous as you always said that you were, even though you didn't really believe it back then. Maybe you don't yet, but you will some day because I'll keep telling you until you do." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt. "So, I think we should play this one." He randomly pointed because he didn't know how to play any of them.

"Rook. Good choice."

"Meaning that you're going to completely annihilate me or that it's just fun to play."

"That's for me to know and you to find out." He stuck his tongue out.

"Is that a promise or a prize if I manage to beat you?"

"You silly goose. If that's what you want, you know I will do it whether you win or lose." Kurt leaned forward and kissed him. He got the cards out dealt them and explained how to play.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They played until it got too dark to tell what they were doing. They put the cards away and went back through the process of setting the cargo area up to sleep. They made one last trip to the bathroom and climbed back into the sleeping bag and stripped again.

Kurt invented a new version of pictionary where one person drew something simple on the other and the person had to guess what it was.

"Scissors?"

"Nope."

"Hedge clippers?"

"Nope."

Kurt drew the same pattern on Sebastian one last time.

"Draw it again."

"I already did it three times."

"I don't know."

"Another point for me."

"I think this game is scored improperly. If I can't guess what you've drawn, shouldn't you lose a point for doing an inadequate job of drawing the object?"

"Hmm."

"It doesn't matter. Just draw something else on me. If I don't guess right, at least I should get another chance."

Kurt leaned a bit closer and kissed him. "I've figured out your ruse already, mister."

"And what's my ruse?"

"You just keep guessing wrong so I'll draw it again. And now you want extra turns because you didn't guess right. You just want me to keep drawing on you."

Sebastian pulled him over closer. "You've figured me out." He kissed him. "I like this game. I'll actually try. Don't quit."

"How about I just draw on you? No points."

"Okay."

"Or I could do what you seemed to want me to do earlier."

"How about in the morning when you wake up early?"

"Sure. Do you want me to draw on you more now or do you want to cuddle up and go to sleep?"

"I'm actually pretty tired and we're going to go hiking tomorrow, so let's sleep. This time I want you to sleep on me though."

"My pleasure." He kissed Sebastian before scooting into place to sleep. "I love you."

Sebastian pulled him close. "I love you too."

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They headed to Cades Cove Friday and spent the day hiking, talking, holding hands, taking photos, and enjoying the mountains together. They ate a picnic lunch. They spent the evening playing card games again.

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Saturday morning, they checked out of the campsite and headed into Gatlinburg to go to the aquarium and visit the shops. Neither of them had ever been to an aquarium. They looked at every exhibit. Sebastian took pictures of the seahorses, jellyfish, and a lot of other sea creatures. They got to watch the ray feeding, which made both of them laugh and smile. The penguins were fun to watch too. Kurt got a postcard before they left and headed into the shopping area of Gatlinburg.

After they had looked through a few stores, Kurt managed to distract Sebastian by pointing out some ducks in the creek running through the area and telling him that he wanted to look at a belt he was looking at before again before they left the area.

Sebastian moved around and found a good spot to photograph the ducks from and Kurt managed to buy a leather notebook cover and have it personalized. He remembered Sebastian talking about his journals that he had left behind and he thought the leather journal cover would make a great graduation gift. He put it in his satchel before heading back outside.

He went back out and took photos with his phone of Sebastian taking photos of the ducks. Sebastian saw him come out empty handed. Kurt just shook his head slightly. Sebastian got up and took Kurt's hand and the continued on their journey through the shops.

Sebastian caught Kurt looking at some leather hats and he tried to figure out how to buy one with Kurt knowing. He eventually sent Kurt off to another part of the store to look for a wallet for Sarah or something cute she'd like. He took the hat that Kurt liked, which would look fantastic with his leather jacket and studded boots and managed to convince the clerk to ship it to him. The clerk put the hat behind the counter when Kurt started walking toward the counter.

Sebastian walked toward Kurt and met him halfway and convinced him after looking through the wallets that maybe Sarah would rather choose her own since it would be her first wallet. They looked around together some more and left. Sebastian indicated that he'd be back to pay for the hat.

They went down a few more stores and Sebastian told Kurt he wanted to go back and see if the shop had business cards since there were several things that Kurt liked, suggesting that if the store had a website, Kurt could request presents from the shop. Kurt stayed on the landing and looked at the stream.

Sebastian had his card out before he even got to the counter. The clerk was really quick and had already boxed the hat up. He put it up on the counter and Sebastian wrote his address on it while the clerk ran his card. He came back out with a business card and gave it to Kurt.

Since it was their last night in town, they opted to have dinner out instead of lunch. They headed for Hungry Bear BBQ to try since it had good reviews online. It wasn't fancy, but the food was good and completely new to Sebastian, who was won over and enjoyed it a lot. After dinner they stopped by the fudge shop, bought post cards at one of the souvenir shops, and then headed the last place on Kurt's agenda.

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Kurt pulled into the Smoky Mountain Knife Works parking lot.

"My dad and I spent hours in here when we came to Dollywood. We got rained out and this was where we spent the morning before we drove back to Lima. It's amazing."

They went inside and there were more knives than Sebastian could have ever imagined and Kurt found martial arts training pieces that he just HAD to have.

"Just think, we can practice stage combat together if we get them."

"Mmm hmm."

"And we have to put up wood like I have in the garage somewhere, so I can still practice throwing the ninja stars. And we have to get some of the ones they have here."

"Mmm hmm."

"And did you see all of the sai swords. Maybe you should get your own set."

"I think I can practice with yours."

"But the katanas, you'll practice with me?"

"Will you fight shirtless?" he asked quietly in his ear.

"If you'll play with me, yes."

"I'm convinced."

"And the ninja stars?"

"Yes, get the ones you like."

"Will you throw them with me?"

"Sure."

Kurt was bouncing up on his toes. "We have to take a catalog home."

"Alright." Sebastian was barely restraining himself from laughing because Kurt was so cute when he was all worked up about something.

Kurt picked two practice katanas, the ninja stars he wanted, and was still looking around. "What about throwing knives? I don't have any of those yet."

"Pick whatever you like." Sebastian wasn't managing to keep a straight face anymore.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"Absolutely not." He leaned over and whispered in Kurt's ear. "You're so adorable, I can barely keep it together. I just want to wrap my arms around you and kiss you senseless."

"Save that thought for a little later."

"M'kay."

Kurt picked the throwing knives he wanted. They picked out a new pocketknife for Burt for Father's Day, a mini multi-use tool for Carole for Mother's Day, and they went to get in line.

"I'll need to see ID please, both of you."

They both took out their driver's licenses.

"Thank you." He rang up the items. "That will be $68.34."

They paid, took their purchases, and headed to the hotel for their last night.

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"This place is actually pretty decent for the price."

"I agree. It was only about $10 more than the campgrounds."

"It's a good place to start our trek home tomorrow from. We'll have a 40-minute head start from here. I like that I get to shower with you instead of all by myself."

Kurt walked over to him and started to undress him.

"You're so crazy. But you're the perfect kind of crazy. I love you."

Kurt kissed him and grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bathroom.

"In a hurry?"

"I thought you were." He looked back and waggled his eyebrows.

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The next morning, they headed out right after eating breakfast. They got to their new house around 11:00. Sebastian documented their first visit by photographing their hands together on the doorknob and putting the key in the lock together on both the outdoor door into the foyer and the door into the house. As soon as they were both inside the house, Sebastian pulled Kurt close to him and into a bear hug. He held him tight and spun him in a circle and put him back down and kissed him.

"We have our own place to move to."

"It's amazing and beautiful. Let's go bring the air mattress in and take it upstairs and then go shopping for blinds."

Sebastian carried in the air mattress and Kurt brought up all of the shelf-stable food that they didn't eat on the trip and sat the box on the counter. They left quickly and headed out to get the blinds. They grabbed a $5 pizza for lunch and started the blind installation. Once they got the first one up, the rest were easy to do. Four hours and lots of kisses later, they had gotten all of them hung. They took a selfies in front of the living room windows with the blinds down and shut before they left.

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They made it home just in time to slip into the dining room for dinner. Sam wasn't back yet, so after they finished eating, Kurt made him a plate of food and put it in the fridge before he packed up the leftovers.

They emptied the Navigator out and put everything away, but left the suitcase in the laundry room. They showered, put pajamas on, and washed clothes afterwards. They snuggled until they had to move them to the dryer, and then snuggled more. While the clothes dried, Sebastian burned all of their photos from the trip to a DVD using Kurt's laptop. Once the clothes were dry and put away, they settled into bed.

"_I had an amazing time."_ Kurt kissed Sebastian. _"You're the best travel companion. I love you." _He turned over to be the little spoon.

"_It was beautiful. And I had a lot of fun. And camping's not bad. Maybe we can go again some time this summer."_ Sebastian pulled Kurt close and wrapped his arm around him and his other arm under Kurt's pillow. He kissed the back of his neck. _"I love you too, mon étoile."_


	28. Chapter 28

Monday morning, Kurt saw Sebastian off to Dalton. He knew they were only four more weeks of school left, but somehow the weeks seemed longer than they did before. After Sebastian left, he headed to the shop to work on the books for a half an hour before heading to school to rehearse.

They had two weeks left to rehearse and the song was ready. Kurt was shocked. They sounded really good.

Kurt headed off to class to do his best at learning something that day. He continued with his previous method of reading how to do the problems while the teacher slowly collected their homework and then doing the problems while the teacher explained how to do them.

Kurt sat down with Puck at lunch. He kept his voice down. "Did you finish your English assignment last night?"

"Mostly."

"Okay. Well, tonight, I want you to not do yours and I want you to copy what I write and put it on your handout."

"Are you nuts?"

"Keep your voice down. Miss Pillsbury knows about it. I complained that the teachers aren't actually grading our work. I showed her some evidence last week, but I want to collect more. You won't get in trouble, I promise."

"Fine. Bring yours down to my room when you get home or whenever you get it done."

"Thank you."

"You're the weirdest person ever, thanking me for agreeing to copy your homework."

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "You sound really good on the song."

"Thanks. I'm skipping Glee tomorrow for a glam girls play date. Carole is going to be home and Sarah is having three of her friends over to have their nails painted and do their hair with some hair paint that washes out. And they're dip dying t-shirts or something. Pink dye of course."

"Ooh, I bet she's excited."

"I'm surprised you couldn't hear the squealing in Tennessee."

Kurt laughed. "Tomorrow will mark a month. She's been very flexible."

"She has. I feel bad that she's leaving her friends behind and going to a new school, but she's so young that hopefully she'll make new friends quickly that will live closer and she can go to afterschool care with and play with there."

"She's friendly and outgoing. I think she'll make new friends easily."

"Hey, did any of the other guys ever apologize to you? I told them you didn't accept a blanket apology, just my personal one."

"Mike, Rory, and Joe."

Puck nodded and then got pulled into another conversation. Kurt decided to head to the library for the last half of lunch and get started on his English worksheet.

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Wednesday at lunch, Kurt stopped by Miss Pillsbury's office with both his and Puck's English worksheets that had been handed back that morning. Kurt's had an A written on it while Puck's had a C written on. Miss Pillsbury took the pages, left to photocopy them, and came back. She returned the originals to Kurt and showed him that she had covered over their names on the photocopies.

"This is completely unacceptable."

"I agree. Puck is finally doing all of his schoolwork and the reward he gets is that he keeps getting C's, no matter what answers he puts on his worksheets. I haven't seen his assignments from his other classes, but when I asked him a few weeks back how he was doing, he told me that he was making all C's, except for one class. He's actually doing the homework correctly now and he's still getting C's. This is just ridiculous. Is there some sort of grading system at this school that the teachers have created? All jocks get C's, no matter what they turn in? Obviously the European Geography teacher didn't get the memo because he wasn't getting a C in there. Maybe she just doesn't ascribe to the 'Jock Grading System' or maybe she's just never had a jock take her class, since it's not the typical social studies class that students take."

"I don't know, Kurt, but this is very disturbing. If the teachers really are just giving all of the jocks C's no matter what they turn in, then there's a whole group of students who are receiving grades they don't deserve, whether the C is higher than they deserve or lower than they deserve."

"I've provided you with what I can easily get. I don't really know what you can do with the information."

"I'm not sure yet, but thank you for bringing this to my attention."

"You're welcome."

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Sebastian's week went by slowly, mostly because he felt inundated by the massive amount of schoolwork he had to get done each evening. He had a regular lacrosse game on Thursday afternoon as well as the tournament qualification game on Friday. If they won on Friday, they'd move ahead in the tournament and play again on Saturday.

And prom was Saturday night. He no intentions of having any schoolwork left to do over the weekend. So, he spent every waking moment working on something school related. He went to dinner at the last possible moment each evening to avoid possibly running into anyone wanting to converse with him and keeping him in the dining hall for longer than it took to eat.

The two songs that he was performing at Nationals were looking and sounding good and his plan of not attending Thursday rehearsals was helping him have an extra hour to get homework done.

By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, he was burnt out on schoolwork and long past ready to see Kurt.

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Kurt brought Sebastian's suit and his own suit from Finn and Rachel's wedding. He figured it wasn't the time to be fashion forward. He just wanted to have a nice evening with Sebastian. He brought coordinating vests and ties for them to wear. He made a cake for two for them to have afterwards.

Sebastian met him the visitor's lot in his lacrosse sweatsuit and carried the garment bag and the small box that had the cake in it up to his room. Kurt wouldn't tell him what was in the box.

After they got everything up in Sebastian's room, they headed down for a quick dinner. Sebastian left to get ready for the game. The coach had scheduled a short practice before the game. Kurt wandered around the school for a while, more of those "What if?" questions floating around in his mind.

Burt, Carole, Sam, Puck, and Sarah came to watch the game. Puck and Sarah rode with Sam. Carole drove to the airport to pick Burt up on the way. They texted Kurt when they arrived in the parking lot. Kurt went to meet them. About 10 minutes later, the other three arrived. Kurt hadn't mentioned that everyone was coming, in case something happened that prevented them from making it.

They all headed to the field to surprise Sebastian. He was out on the field stretching after the practice when they got there. Kurt managed to get Flint's attention and he went out and got Sebastian to come over to the edge of the field.

"Surprise," Kurt said, which he didn't need to say because Sebastian already had a stunned look on his face when he got close enough to see everyone. Kurt thanked Flint and asked him to take a picture of all of them. They huddled together with Sebastian down on one knee with Sarah standing next to him. Kurt knelt on his other side and took his hand. Sam stood to Burt's left, behind Kurt. Puck stood to Carole's right, behind Sarah. Flint took several shots and gave the phone back to Kurt, who thanked him.

Sebastian squeezed Kurt's hand as he got up. "Thank you all for coming. This is a huge surprise. I have to go back to stretch some more and get ready to play." He waved and ran back onto the field.

Dalton won and moved forward in the tournament. After the game, Sebastian showered as quickly as he could and dressed in his lacrosse team sweatsuit and headed right back outside to meet up with everyone.

"Congratulations, sweetie!" Carole was the first to pull him into a hug. "You did great out there."

"Thanks."

"So, I figure you two already ate dinner, but how about we all go out for frozen yogurt?" Burt asked.

"Sure. We'll meet you there. That way you all can head out without having to drive back this way."

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When they got to the yogurt shop, they enjoyed watching Sarah have an enormous amount of fun debating over which flavor to choose, sampling a few, and then choosing which toppings to put on hers.

Once they were sitting down, Kurt got everyone's attention and they all started to sing "Happy Birthday". The trip to the yogurt shop had been planned to be a surprise birthday party for Sam in addition to the family trip to see Sebastian's game.

Burt and Carole gave him a card with a gas card in it. Sarah had made him a homemade card with a cake drawn on it. Sebastian gave him a card and a framed picture that he had taken of all five of the Evans family members when they were in Kentucky. Sam opened Kurt's gift last. Kurt had gotten him a set of specialty paints that he had talked about wanting to try, but was never willing to risk the cash to buy for himself.

After they finished, Burt, Carole, Puck, and Sarah headed back to Lima. Before he headed to Kentucky, Sam pulled Kurt into a hug in the parking lot and thanked him, knowing that the impromptu birthday party had been his idea.

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"Well, that was a lot of fun," Sebastian said as they walked up the stairs to the building.

"It was. He loved that photo. You're really good."

"Thanks. He seemed surprised by your gift."

"I waited to get a 60% off coupon to buy the set. I knew he wanted it, but he wouldn't buy it for himself."

"I thought you were going to give him everything in Lima before you came over here today. And then you surprised me to by having everyone came to the game. A year ago, I could never have even imagined a life where I had a fabulous boyfriend, pseudo-parents who like me…"

Kurt cut in, "who love you."

"And three pseudo-siblings, well five I guess if Finn and Rachel ever start to come around again."

"Well, I can't say that I had imagined any of that either. But it's pretty amazing."

They walked up the stairs to Sebastian's room and went inside. Once the door was shut and locked, Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck and kissed him. "You were great tonight."

"Thanks. It was really fun to play knowing that people came to watch me. Not in a show-off way, but just really fun. Having you come to every Saturday game and then having other people come sometimes has been really fun. Thank you."

"I wanted to come to more of the games, but with them starting at 4:30, I just couldn't get to them in time."

"I know. I know you would have come if you could have. I couldn't come to watch you cheer at the games that weren't on the weekends, even though I wanted to."

Kurt kissed him again and hugged him tight. "I know it's not even 10:00 yet, but how about a shower and a massage for you?"

"Yes. Definitely, yes." He started undressing Kurt.

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After Kurt finished Sebastian's massage, he curled up and Kurt scooted up behind him and wrapped his arm around him.

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out. He started placing little kisses along Sebastian's neck and shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too."

They lay in each other's arms talking about any and everything until they fell asleep.

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The next morning, they ate some cereal bars that Sebastian had in his room and just stayed in bed snuggling for a few hours before they got up and got ready.

"Three weeks."

"21 days."

"Oh, we did finally persuade Brittany to make Prom a costume party. People can still come dressed up in regular prom attire and just wear a mask, but people will also show up wearing costumes. I thought maybe you could wear my John Travolta outfit or Sam's if his fits you better. He's determined to wear that baby blue suit. And I'm going as Freddie Mercury. The New Directions will be providing the live music again this year. But you can sing too. Last year, I didn't participate, but I'm going to this year. We could sing together."

"Isn't that likely to cause you problems at school?"

"There's only four days of school after prom. If I have to, I'll get Puck and Sam to be my bodyguards for four days. I think the bullies that are left aren't dumb enough to do something to get suspended during finals. They want to graduate."

"That's a good point. We'll have to think about what we could sing."

"Did you turn the form in for graduation indicating six guests for the evening?"

"I did." He had a big smile on his face.

Kurt couldn't resist that smile and he leaned forward and kissed him. "Good. Are you ready to get dressed and go out to the reservoir like we planned."

"More kisses first?"

Kurt laughed. "Of course."

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They stopped at an inexpensive Chinese restaurant on the way to the reservoir and picked up lunch. They had a picnic at the park and went walking on the trails through some of the wooded area. They stayed until they had to head back at 3:00 for Sebastian to get ready for the Regional Quarterfinals game in Columbus.

Kurt dropped Sebastian off at Dalton, and then he headed toward the school in Columbus where the game was being played. He stopped by an office supply store on the way. He picked out a black Cross pen and pencil set and a notebook to go in the leather notebook cover he had gotten for Sebastian on their trip.

Dalton won again and advanced to the next round of the tournament, the Regional Semifinals, the next Friday night. While Kurt was glad for Sebastian, he knew that winning was going to complicate things for Sebastian with the Warblers going to Nationals the next weekend.

Kurt headed back to the school and waited outside the bus unloading area for the team to get back. He waited for Sebastian to get off the bus. When he did, he walked over to him and they talked briefly. He and Kurt waited around for the coach.

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"Coach, can I talk to you?"

"Follow me to my office, Sebastian."

Kurt followed too. Once they were in the office, the two of them sat down in the chairs facing the coach's desk.

"What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, we won, but that creates some complications for me and for Flint. He and I are both Warblers and we're singing in Chicago next weekend at the Show Choir National Championship."

"I had heard that the Warblers had made their way to Nationals."

"The issue is that the two of us can't be here both Friday and Saturday night when we have to be in Chicago to perform during the day on Saturday. The team is traveling by bus and it's a 6-hour drive I believe. The plan was to leave after school on Friday and arrive in time to sleep. They have planned a sightseeing trip for Sunday and aren't planning to arrive back at school until 9:00 or 10:00 Sunday evening."

"I see."

"You're our high scorer, Sebastian. If you don't play, we have very little chance of winning."

"I understand sir, but I am also lead Warbler and there isn't someone to take my place."

"Let me look at something." He turned and looked at a print out on his bulletin board. "Both of those games start at 7:00. What time are you scheduled to sing?"

"No one has said when we actually perform. There are 25 choirs I think. It starts in the morning at 10:00, but the winner isn't announced until 4:00."

"Which is 5:00 Ohio time. So, even if you tried to take a flight back as soon as it ends, you couldn't get here by 7:00. Let me see what I can figure out. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."

Sebastian nodded. He and Kurt left the office. Sebastian headed into the locker room and Kurt went out to the hallway to wait for him.

Kurt leaned against the wall and thought about Sebastian's dilemma if the coach couldn't do anything to change the time of the second game. About 10 minutes later, Sebastian came out. They were the only ones in the hall and Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian and hugged him.

"You go eat something since you used up so much energy playing. I'll wait upstairs in the lounge for you. I want to eat what's being served at Prom and if I eat now, I won't be hungry then."

Sebastian stepped out of the hug and took his hand and they walked to the dining hall. "I'll just grab a sandwich and a banana. Just wait for me, okay?"

Kurt smiled and nodded.

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When the got back up to Sebastian's room, Kurt started undressing. Sebastian gave him a quizzical look.

"We have two hours before Prom. I want a pre-Prom nap. And I thought you might like to join me."

"Are we actually going to sleep?"

"I guess that depends, but mostly it's just an excuse to snuggle up with you."

"I see. So, it's a pre-Prom snuggle?"

"Umm hmm." Kurt continued to undress.

"Without any clothes on, it seems."

"Umm hmm." By then Kurt was down to his underwear. He folded his clothes and put them in the desk chair and swaggled his way over to the bed. "Are you joining me or are you just going to stand there?"

"Right." Sebastian refocused and undressed, tossing his clothes into the laundry basket in the closet. He turned around and got right in bed with Kurt.

"I figured you're tired after running around and we're going to dance all evening. So, we should rest for a while. I set my phone for 7:15."

"And if I want to rest by kissing you?" Sebastian teased, kissing up Kurt's neck.

"I'm not sure how 'restful' that would be, but I'm not opposed to the idea."

Sebastian rolled Kurt over onto his back and started kissing him.

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Before they went downstairs, Sebastian used the timer feature on his camera to take several shots of the two of them.

Nick and Jeff met them outside the dining hall. They found a decent area and they took pictures of each other using their phones to send to their mothers and Carole.

Once they were done, they stepped inside the dining hall, which the school had done an excellent job of transforming into a lovely dance hall. They didn't have any of the ceiling lights on and they had hung strings of lights from the light fixtures all around the room, almost giving the effect of the night sky with stars. The food tables had strings of icicle lights hanging over the tops of the tableskirts.

Kurt and Sebastian spent a lot of the evening dancing together. They also took turns dancing with Nick and Jeff and anyone else who asked. None of the guys seemed fazed by dancing with other guys, just like the night they had gone to the club. The girls dance with each other too. Friends danced with friends. Kurt and Sebastian didn't know any of the girls, but that didn't stop some of them from asking them to dance.

Kurt was glad that he had skipped dinner. He and Sebastian enjoyed sharing the appetizers and a few of the mini-desserts that were set up along the edge where the food was normally served for meals.

As the evening wound down, they danced together to the last few songs. After the last song, the band took a bow and everyone clapped politely for them. They played quietly as everyone slowly exited the room.

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A lot of the couples headed out for hotels to be able to spend the night together and Kurt and Sebastian had discussed the idea and decided against it. They headed up to Sebastian's room.

He opened the door and said, "Close your eyes and stand right there." He shut the door and locked it. He turned the bathroom light on so he could see what he was doing and then turned it off. He went back and stood next to Kurt and said, "Open your eyes."

Kurt smiled when he opened his eyes. Sebastian had hung a set of twinkling icicle lights across his curtain rod behind his curtains. They lit up the room just enough to see, the way a few candles would.

Sebastian pulled his phone out and played an instrumental version of "Never Gonna Let You Down". He held out his hand to Kurt. "May I have the last dance of the evening?"

"Your name is permanently etched at the top of my dance card." He took Sebastian's hand and they danced until the song ended. When it did, he pulled Sebastian close and hugged him tight. "Tonight was beautiful. I'm glad we went."

"Me too. Do I get to open the box yet?" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

"With that type of request, I'm afraid that you might be let down by what you find inside."

"I'm figuring that it's something tasty."

"Well, good. I was concerned that you thought it was something more risqué."

"Oh, no. You oftentimes bring me some kind of treat and you didn't let me have it last night, so I've been wondering what it is for a whole day."

"It's nothing really fancy since I couldn't refrigerate it."

"I'm sure it's really good."

"Do you want to shower first or do you want to open it now?"

"How about we hang our suits up and I'll think about it?" He started to unbutton Kurt's vest, then his shirt. He untucked his undershirt and slid his hands around Kurt's back, which caused him to moan.

He reached over and started undressing Sebastian as well. By the time they were down to their underwear and the suits were on hangers, Sebastian had made up his mind.

"I want to open it now."

"Alright."

Sebastian opened the box and found a fabric picnic tablecloth inside. He took it out and handed it to Kurt, who took it from him, opened it, and put it over the bed. Sebastian pulled out a tall storage container that was in the box upside down.

"Did the whole thing get dumped upside-down?"

"No, it's right-side-up. Sit it on the desk. The lid is being used as base."

"Got it." Sebastian carefully removed the container, which was the cover. He grinned. "It's a baby chocolate cake."

"It's a chocolate lava cake for two."

"Mmm." He grabbed the two napkins with forks wrapped in them and carefully carried the cake over to the bed.

Kurt sat down on the tablecloth first and then took the cake so Sebastian could sit down without dropping it. Once Sebastian had sat down, Kurt put the cake on the bed in between them. He took a napkin and fork from Sebastian. He cut into the cake and offered the first bite to Sebastian.

"Mmm. That's delicious."

"I'm glad you like it."

They fed each other the cake until it was gone. Kurt stood up and put the container and forks back in the box. Sebastian stood up as well. Kurt went back over to the bed and took the tablecloth and folded it up and put it in the box too.

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt from behind. "Shower?"

"Of course."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt and Sebastian spent a leisurely morning together, ate lunch as soon as the cafeteria opened, packed up everything in the Navigator, and headed to the Columbus Zoo. On their way to the ticket counter, an employee offered them a membership brochure. They looked at it, but laid it at the ticket counter for someone else to look at. They bought their tickets and waited near the entrance for Nick and Jeff to arrive.

"The membership thing would be a cool idea to do at the Cincinnati Zoo if we like going there. We'd still get that 50% discount on all of the other places, but we'd get in free to the zoo we live near," Kurt said.

"We'll have to go sometime and see. We had a good time at the National Zoo and the aquarium in Gatlinburg, so it sounds like a good idea." Sebastian reached out for Kurt's hand, which was quickly accepted and they interlaced their fingers.

"I like going places with you, period." Kurt rubbed his thumb along Sebastian's index finger.

A few minutes later, Nick and Jeff arrived. They bought their tickets and the four of them headed into the zoo. They spent the whole afternoon looking through the exhibits and enjoying spending time together and watching the animals.

Once the zoo closed, they headed out. Nick and Jeff pointed out where they had parked and headed to their car. Kurt and Sebastian climbed in the backseat of the Navigator for a few minutes of kissing before Kurt left.

"I'll miss you." Kurt said and gave Sebastian one last kiss before he opened the door to get out. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll call you after I talk to the coach about the games and everything."

They both got out. Kurt moved to the driver's seat. Sebastian waved before he got in Nick's backseat.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt managed to get a load of laundry in and the suits stored back in the closet before it was time to eat. He moved the wet clothes to the dryer, and then he helped set the table and carry the food into the dining room. Finn, Rachel, Puck, Sarah, Sam, and Carole all sat down together to eat.

Carole started the conversation. "Is everyone excited about Nationals next weekend?"

"I'm not really sure what's been planned. I've been leaving as soon as we finish practicing to head to the shop," Kurt said.

Rachel responded. "Well, we're planning on sightseeing on Sunday. We're going to leave super early Saturday morning rather than spend the night Friday night since we're only spending one night. That way we can enjoy the sightseeing on Sunday."

"Alright. So, we're leaving at what, 5:00 in the morning?

"Yes."

"So, we're staying in a hotel Saturday night and sightseeing on Sunday. Anything else I've missed?"

"Just that Tina is kind of freaking out because you haven't brought the bows for the girls' dresses to school yet."

"I have them done. I need to take them over there tonight. I completely forgot to take them to school on Friday. I had so many other things I packed for the weekend Friday morning that I left them behind. As soon as we eat, I'll take them over. Thank you for reminding me."

"You're welcome."

"While you're here, Finn, I need to tailor your shirt."

"Sure, dude. We're gonna watch a movie after dinner, so you can do it when you come back from Tina's."

Carole remembered, "Oh, Kurt. There's some mail for you on your desk."

"Thanks."

Finn asked, "Kurt, can you add me back to the shop schedule?"

"Sure. I'll have to ask Dad how many hours I can add you for and see if any of the guys working in the afternoon want to switch to mornings first."

"That's fine. I want to start after we get back from Nationals anyway."

"Okay. If there's certain days you can't work, let me know before I rearrange anything. Just text me so I can look at the list when I'm at the shop."

"Got it."

"Any prospects on jobs for you, Rachel?" Carole asked.

"I applied to work at several summer camps in the area. Interviews should start soon."

"That would be good because those are set hours and so much easier to deal with than the craziness that jobs like mine involve. I'm going to start looking into getting on at a doctor's office three days a week. I'm getting too old for the rotating 12-hour shifts and trying to get people to switch with me so I can be home when Burt is or have enough days off to go out to see him."

"That sounds like a better fit," Kurt said. "I hope you find a position like that."

They finished up eating. "I know I'm supposed to help clean up, but could I be excused, just for tonight so I can take those bows to Tina and tailor my shirt and Finn's?"

Sam spoke up. "I'll do the dishes instead of Kurt. We need those costumes ready for Tuesday because we're having a dress rehearsal."

"Thanks, Sam." Kurt got up and grabbed the clothes from the laundry room and laid them out on his bed to keep them from wrinkling. He grabbed the box that he had put the bows in and headed downstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

He rang Tina's doorbell.

"Kurt?"

"Hi Tina. I'm so sorry. I had these ready for you Friday morning and I forgot to bring them to school. I don't know that it will do any good to give them to you now, but if you want, I'll help you sew them on during lunch tomorrow." He handed her the box of bows.

"Alright. I'll see if I can get a couple sewn on before school too. I have US History before lunch. Maybe Mr. Schue will just let me go sew during class."

"I hope so. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay. At least they're done. Everything else on the dresses has already been done. This won't take that long. We're way more prepared than we've ever been before."

"That's true. I have to get home and get some other stuff done. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Kurt waved as he got back into the Navigator and pulled out of her driveway and headed home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went upstairs and knocked on Sam's door.

"Come in."

"Hey. Can you put your shirt on so that I can see how to alter mine and Finn's?"

"Um. Yeah. Sure. Give me a minute." Sam grabbed his shirt out of his closet and went in the bathroom to put it on. He came back out with it tucked in his jeans.

"Turn."

Sam turned slowly.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He went back into the bathroom and changed back. He hung it on the back of his bedroom door. "I'm supposed to take it to school tomorrow so that everything will be in one place."

"Right. I have to get mine and Finn's done tonight."

"You're burning the candles at both ends again like Burt told you not to."

"I know. Three weeks."

"Three weeks. This school year's gone by really fast and really slowly both. It's weird."

"I know. I just want it to be over with in some ways and in other ways, I wish this year were just starting, but starting differently than it actually did. So many things have been a mess this year. I wanted this magical senior year where we were finally all friends, where the rivalry was replaced with camaraderie instead. No more fighting and a lot of good times together. But that's not what we got, at least it's not what I got."

Sam just nodded and sat back down on his bed.

"Well, I have to go fix Finn's shirt." Kurt went in his room and grabbed Finn's shirt and some straight pins.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Just go slip it on in the half bath or the storage room. Tuck it in and come back out so I can mark it."

Finn came back out and Kurt marked where to put the darts and sent him to take it back off.

"I'll be back down after I've fixed it for you to try it on to make sure it fits right."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Once Kurt was back up in his room, he remembered that he hadn't looked at the mail that Carole had mentioned. He grabbed it and moved it to the vanity so he could set the sewing machine up on the desk. He laid Finn's shirt out and pinned it so he could sew it. He finished it and took it right back downstairs for Finn to try on. It fit him and he brought it back upstairs to take to school with everyone else's.

He knocked on Puck's door and asked for his. He collected Sam's from him and put them all in a garment bag together to keep them clean. He still had his left to do, so he got his out and did the alterations on it as well and added his to the group. He took the garment bag down and hung it in the Navigator so he couldn't possibly leave them behind like he had the bows on Friday.

He went back upstairs and took care of the clothes he had washed and dried. He put the sewing machine back away and grabbed some scissors from the drawer and opened the mail. The first one was a letter from NYADA, which surprised him.

_Mr. Hummel, _

_Please accept your invitation you to join the NYADA Musical Theatre Class of 2016. _

_Please fill out the enclosed forms to accept or decline your acceptance into the program and choose your housing option for the 2012-2013 school year by the May 15__th__ deadline._

_Sincerely,_

_Carmen Tibideaux_

Kurt put the letter down on the desk and texted Rachel. She came upstairs just a few minutes later.

"Kurt?"

"Come in, Rachel." He got up to meet her and handed her the letter.

She took it and unfolded it and read it. "It's the exact letter I got. What are you going to do?" She handed it back to him.

He sat down at the desk and she sat in the chair in the corner.

"I'm not going to NYADA. I'm not even sure why she sent it since I told her that I had applied to another school."

"Maybe it was just to prove a point. I talked to our counselor about what happened. I think you probably have grounds for getting Mr. Schue fired over this."

"I don't know if that's what I want. I mean he's not awful, but what he did was really wrong. What if I hadn't applied anywhere else and I didn't looked into why I hadn't been accepted?"

"That would be terrible, especially with me choking and still getting in. He didn't really teach us a lot after I started to really think about it. He's not a bad choral arranger, but he's not really taught us much about music, like actual musical training."

"I know. When I started voice lessons in the fall, I realized how much Mr. Schue wasn't doing. I didn't mind learning about the history of modern music, but he left out a lot, plus like you just said, he didn't do much to teach actual musical skill."

"Wait. You've been taking voice lessons?"

"Yes."

"He didn't really provide any vocal training. He let me get away with being really awful and encouraged my childish behavior by giving in."

"He did. I think I really like your new counselor."

"I would have learned a lot more by seeing this guy if I had gone to see him since I started high school instead of the therapist I used to go to."

"Well, at least you've found someone to help now. Are you and Finn doing better?"

"Not really. We're fighting less because I'm less of a basket case, but I thought about what you said about me and Blaine. And you were right in some ways. If he had been bi, he would have been perfect in a lot of ways. I don't know that things would have worked out with him because there are other issues going on with him. But I thought about what you said about him being able to be my 'best gay' and boyfriend. I love Finn, but I don't like anything that Finn likes. He doesn't really like anything that I like, except food."

"This is why I tried to convince both of you to wait. I knew you loved him, but sometimes love isn't enough. You have to be compatible too. Being with him at school during lunch and Glee and maybe one or two evenings a week is a whole lot different than living with someone."

"I know. I feel torn. I don't want to get divorced, but I'm certain now that the only reason he's going to New York is because of me. He wants to make me happy. That can't be someone's purpose in life."

"I don't know what to say."

"There isn't anything to say. We have to figure things out for ourselves. I just think we're headed for a split, whether we stay married or not. I don't think he's going to go with me to New York. I don't even know if I should go. I know if I go to NYADA, I can't be the person I've been. I have to be ready to face criticism, like you said, and I don't know if I can." She started crying.

Carole came up looking for Rachel. She knocked on the open door. "Rachel?"

She wiped her eyes and turned towards the door.

"The movie ended, dear. Finn's ready to go."

"Alright. I'll be right down."

Carole walked away from the door.

"Well, I didn't tell Finn about your rejection letter, so no one but the two of us knows, and maybe Miss Pillsbury? I think you should just tell everyone that you got in. There's no reason to give anyone the impression that you were rejected because of Mr. Schue's lies, unless you want people to know."

"I don't. At least I don't want anyone in Glee to know. I didn't specifically tell Miss Pillsbury that I got a rejection letter, but I am sure that she assumes that I did. The only thing she know for certain is that I requested that she provide an accurate account of the falsehoods in Mr. Schue's response to NYADA's request for more information."

"Alright. So, it's okay if I talk about me going to NYADA?"

"I told you it was fine before."

"Well, I didn't want to add to the terrible things I've already done."

"I appreciate that. But yes, feel free to tell anyone you want. If people come to me and ask, I'll say that I got in as well. You can give people the same answer. Just don't say that I accepted or rejected. Just say that I got in too."

"I can do that." She went downstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt opened the second letter. It was a letter stating that he had gotten one of the scholarships that he had applied for. He called Sebastian immediately.

"Bas, I got a scholarship. I got a letter yesterday."

"That's fantastic."

"It's only $1500, but it's something. And it's renewable. I also got a new letter from NYADA offering me a place for next school year."

"What?"

"I guess Madame Tibideaux reconsidered my application after she found out that Mr. Schue had misrepresented the truth."

"So what are you going to do?" Sebastian sounded concerned.

"I'm going to decline the offer because you and I are moving into our house and going to school in Cincinnati," he stated with conviction.

"Are you sure that's what you want? I don't want you to look back and regret this choice."

"Yes, I'm sure that it's what I want. I want to go to school and learn and I want be with you. UC is a really good program. We can move to New York after we finish school or never if we find we want to live some place else instead. I would have never agreed to getting the house if I still had doubts."

"Okay. Oh, I got an email from my coach. He did a lot of work and got the other three teams that are playing in the Region 1 Semifinal games to agree to move the games to earlier in the afternoon so that the Region 1 Finals game can be played Friday night. The first game will be at 4:00 and the winners will face off at 7:00. The other three regions in Ohio will keep the original schedule."

"That's great. I found out that the New Directions bus is leaving a 5:00am on Saturday morning. Maybe you and Flint can ride with us since the Warblers are leaving Friday after school. I'll ask tomorrow."

"I will talk to Flint. I don't see why he wouldn't want to. The only other option is to buy a plane ticket and fly out. If his family has money, he might prefer to do that though. I'll let you know at lunch tomorrow. That way you'll know whether to ask about both of us or just me."

"Okay. I had a really good time with you at Prom. And the park and the zoo. I miss being with you. I need to get ready for bed though. I have rehearsal before school tomorrow."

"_I miss you too. Good night, mon étoile. I love you."_

"_I love you too."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Tina managed to get all 13 bows on the dresses before the end of the day. And surprisingly none of the guys forgot to bring their shirts. Once everyone arrived, they moved to the auditorium.

They ran through their set list three times. After the third time, Mr. Schue had them sit in the auditorium to go over some details. This time Kurt stayed to listen instead of going to the shop. Once he finished talking, Kurt raised his hand.

"Yes, Kurt."

"I wanted to ask if it would be possible for Sebastian to ride with us to Chicago. The Dalton lacrosse team has made it farther in the tournament this year than it has in previous years, so there was a conflict between the lacrosse Regional Semifinals and Regional Finals and Show Choir Nationals. His coach managed to move the Saturday game to Friday, but now he has two lacrosse games on Friday after school. The Warblers are leaving on their bus right after school on Friday. Flint is on the lacrosse team too, but his parents are paying from him to fly to Chicago after their second game. Sebastian would rather not spend close to $200 on an airplane ticket, unless he has no other option."

Mr. Schue didn't say anything.

"He's already 18. He doesn't need a parent's permission. We're not going to be practicing our songs when we leave at 5:00 in the morning. People are going to bring pillows and sleep. Plus, what good would hearing us sing our entire set list do for the Warblers now? It's not like an a cappella group can change their set list a few hours before a competition."

Rachel spoke up. "Kurt's right. I've acted ridiculous about this all year. A cappella groups can't just create arrangements in a few hours. They've been rehearsing as long as we have and all we can do is our best. I'm not opposed to him riding with us."

"Is anyone else?" Kurt looked around and no one seemed to care. "So, can I take the fact that no one is saying anything opposed to the idea to mean that it's okay?"

"He can ride with us," Mr. Schue said.

"Thank you."

"I will remind everyone to pack light. A single backpack or small overnight bag is it. We'll only be staying one night. We'll have 30 people on the bus, plus our costumes. Dress rehearsal tomorrow. Bring your shoes. They'll stay here with the costumes."

Quinn asked, "Where are we sightseeing?"

"Good question. Miss Pillsbury will be talking about that tomorrow. That's all for today."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt texted Sebastian at 4:05, hoping to catch him on his way to lacrosse practice. When Sebastian got the text, he called Kurt.

"_Good afternoon, mon étoile."_

"_You're cheerful."_

"_You want to talk to me. Why wouldn't I be cheerful?"_

"_You're a sweetie. I called to say that you can ride with us to Chicago."_

"_Excellent. Now, I don't have to spend $200 on a plane ticket. Oh, in other good news, Nick and Jeff's parents are paying for a room for them, and we've been asked to join them."_

"_That will be fun. That leaves Finn a whole bed to himself. He'll be pleased."_

"_Finn wouldn't have shared a bed with you, would he?"_

"_Oh, no. I would have shared with Sam. But with me not sharing a room with the Glee guys, there will be 7 of them, leaving one bed with only one occupant and since he's the tallest, I'm sure he'll claim that bed."_

"_Well, I want the bed that has you in it."_

"_Mmm hmm."_

"_I've got to go get changed now. We'll talk later. I love you. Thanks for calling me."_

"_You're welcome. I love you too."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt called Sebastian at bedtime. "_Good evening, mon joyau."_

"_It's definitely better now that you've called."_

"_So, I've been planning."_

"_Umm hmm."_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_It just means that I'm listening and ready to hear what you've plotted."_

"_So, I'm going to skip Glee on Friday while everyone else loads the bus. And I'm going to drive to wherever your first game is."_

"_Both games are going to be at the same school, in Dublin."_

"_Well, that will make it even easier. So, I'm going to come watch you and then take you out to dinner and then go watch your second game and bring you home with me afterwards. We should get home in time to go to sleep by 10:00 and not be completely dead tired to get to the school to leave at 5:00."_

"_I figured I'd drive to the games and then drive home afterwards."_

"_That would mean your car would be here and you'd be going back to Westerville with the Warblers Sunday."_

"_I was going to try to ride back to Lima with you and stay until Monday morning like usual."_

"_Hmm. So, either I get to watch you play or I get to spend an extra night with you. That's so not a fair choice. I want both."_

Sebastian laughed. _"You're so cute. I want both too."_

"_Not to minimize getting to spend the night with you because I really do love that, but there won't be any other games for me to come see you in unless you win both games Friday night."_

"_Okay. I'll ride with the team to the game and go back to Lima with you afterward."_

"_Send me the name of the school where the games are being held."_

"_I will."_

They talked for a while longer before they hung up to go to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The rest of the week was a blur of preparing for Nationals, schoolwork, working for Kurt and lacrosse practices for Sebastian. By the time the two of them spoke before going to bed Thursday night, they were both pretty beat.

Kurt got up Friday morning and made a batch of pan cookies for Sebastian. As soon as school got out, he headed to Dublin to watch the games. He arrived 30 minutes into the game, but he was pleased to at least get to see part of it. He found a seat and checked the score. Dalton was ahead at the half. Kurt refrained from yelling because he knew how much that could hurt his voice. But it was hard not to. Sebastian scored three times in the second half. Dalton won.

Kurt headed out of the stands and out to the Navigator. Sebastian texted him once he was showered and dressed. Kurt pulled around to the entrance and Sebastian put his garment bag, suitcase, and satchel in the back seat, climbed in the passenger seat, and leaned over the console and kissed Kurt.

"You won! Congratulations!"

"I'm glad you're here."

"What would you like to eat, and where do I need to drive to get it?"

Sebastian took his phone out of his hoodie pocket. "How about Thai food? There's a place not far from here."

"Sure." Kurt followed Sebastian's directions and they arrived a few minutes later.

They ordered chicken dishes and sat down and waited for their food.

"So, are you excited about Chicago?"

"Yeah. It should be interesting. We're going to a museum on Sunday."

"That sounds cool. I wish our group was going to a museum. Maybe I can go with you somehow. Miss Pillsbury planned a shopping trip for the girls and a sport-something trip for the guys."

"I see."

Their number was called. Kurt got up to grab their tray of food and brought it back to the table.

"You try both. Whichever one you like best, you eat."

They took bites of each dish.

"I like them both."

"Me too."

They left the containers in the middle and put some of each on their plates. They talked and ate. Once they finished, they headed back to the school in case the coach wanted Sebastian there for some reason.

After Kurt parked, they climbed into the backseat, and then decided to put the seats down and lay out in the cargo area. Kurt had already put the camping pillows in the back to take with them on the bus, so they lay on their sides facing each other, gently kissing and talking until Sebastian had to head back into the locker room to change back into his lacrosse gear.

Kurt kissed him one last time. "I love you. I'll meet you back here after the game."

Sebastian climbed out and Kurt put the back seats back in position before he headed back into the stadium to wait for the game to start.

He looked up the museum that the Warblers were going to and he decided that he was going to go with them, even if Mr. Schue didn't really want him to. He didn't have to wait too much longer before the game got underway.

The game was neck and neck the whole time. It was definitely their toughest match of the year. It came down to the last few minutes and Dalton scored. Kurt couldn't tell who it was. But they were up 14-13. They managed to keep the other team from scoring in the last 2 minutes and they won. Dalton was the Region 1 Champion. They were headed to the State Semifinal game the next weekend.

Kurt headed out to the Navigator and waited for Sebastian. He got in and Kurt headed for Lima.

"Who scored that last shot? I couldn't tell. Everyone was moving around so fast."

"I did."

"You're amazing. I'm glad you decided to play. You're really good."

"It's a lot of fun. I've gotten the team to loosen up a bit and it's been more fun than I originally thought it was going to be."

"I think I have everything ready for the weekend. Open the glove box."

Sebastian reached up and opened it and pulled out a ziplock bag of cookies.

"Mmm." He stuffed one in his mouth. "You spoil me. Are they cookies or brownies?" he asked after wolfing down the first one.

"I like spoiling you. They're pan cookies. I didn't have time to roll the dough into balls to make individual cookies. That's about a quarter of them. The rest are at home to take with us."

"Peanut butter chocolate chip. That's new. I like them."

"I think you like all cookies."

"Well, you haven't made any that I haven't liked."

Kurt reached over and took his hand and interlaced their fingers. They talked the rest of the way back to Lima.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian left his uniform hanging in the garment bag in the cargo area of the Navigator. He went straight to the laundry room and put his clothes in the washer.

Kurt was upstairs double-checking the suitcase when Sebastian walked in. He closed and locked the door. He walked over to the bed where Kurt was looking through everything.

"I just need to add your socks and underwear, unless there's something else you need to add."

"I think my slacks and a button up shirt. The Warblers are expected to dress for dinner Saturday evening."

"Should I add a nice outfit as well? Or am I not allowed to go to dinner with you guys?"

"I hope you're coming. Otherwise, I'm bailing and doing whatever you're doing." He kissed Kurt.

Kurt moved to the closet and grabbed Sebastian's slacks. "Come in here and pick a shirt."

Sebastian chose his green button up with the tiny black diamonds on it. Kurt chose a shirt and took the items and folded them neatly and put them in the suitcase.

"So, I have the dress outfit, two pairs of jeans, the gray short sleeve button up and the burgundy short sleeved Henley for you. And a dress shirt, two pairs of jeans and two button up shirts for me, but they're not really dressy ones. Hiking boots or Vans? I'm packing your dress shoes. My slacks and dress shoes are already packed with our costumes on the bus." He grabbed a vest at the last minute and added it as well.

"I'll just wear my Vans when we leave."

"So, then as soon as your socks and underwear are packed and we add our toiletries, we're done."

Sebastian was standing in front of the dresser moving things from his school satchel into the small canvas bag he used when they traveled. "I think that's it other than whatever we're wearing on the way there."

They both went in the closet and pulled out outfits to wear. Sebastian ran down and moved his clothes to the dryer and came back up. He shut and locked he door again. Kurt was standing and staring at his docked iPod, looking through playlists. Sebastian wrapped his arms around him from behind and propped his chin on Kurt's shoulder. "Dance with me?"

"Always." He chose some jazzy big band music and pressed play. He turned and wrapped his arms around Sebastian and they danced around for a few minutes.

Sebastian was in a really upbeat mood and started being silly. He spun Kurt out and back in and dipped him.

"You goof. I'm not a girl."

"I know you aren't. Trust me." He kissed Kurt passionately. "But you're flexible and hot. And I love dancing with you."

"Mmm." Kurt was enjoying the dancing and kissing too much to respond with words.

When the song ended, Sebastian started undressing Kurt, who responded in kind. They headed to the shower. Kurt washed Sebastian's hair, which was one of his favorite things to do. After they got out, Sebastian slipped on pajamas and headed down to grab his clothes and came right back up. He hung up what went in the closet and put socks and underwear in the suitcase and zipped it up. Kurt had added their toiletries while he was gone and was waiting for him in the bed.

Sebastian turned off the lamp on the dresser and climbed into bed with Kurt, who almost immediately plopped himself over onto Sebastian and wiggled his way into wrapping himself all around Sebastian, who laughed.

"Comfy yet?"

"Mostly."

"Only mostly?"

"You didn't pull me close yet."

"That's because I wanted to kiss you some more first."

"Mmm." Kurt tipped his head up and met Sebastian's lips with his own. "I set the alarm for 4:30. Let's try to sleep for 6 hours."

They kissed a few more times and Sebastian pulled him close and they fell asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Although Kurt's internal alarm clock went off early every morning, 4:30 was too early even for him, but he kissed Sebastian who was sleeping through the alarm.

"Bas, we have to get up and get dressed."

"Kisses."

"A few, but we can't be late to the school." Kurt kissed him a few times. "Come on. We have to go."

Sebastian stretched and sat up. "Okay. I'm up." They got ready quickly and headed downstairs. Sebastian put their suitcase in the Navigator and came back inside.

Carole had gotten up early and made everyone breakfast. They all thanked her and headed out to the Navigator to ride together.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The bus ride was long, but Kurt snuggled up against Sebastian and they napped for a while. When the sun came up, they listened to music for a while. They talked quietly in French. When they got off the interstate and headed into Chicago, they started looking out the windows at the city.

They pulled into the hotel where all of the show choirs were staying at 9:00. Mr. Schue headed to the choral director's area and the other three chaperones started distributing the card keys. Kurt had texted Jeff when they pulled up. He had gotten their room number and got in line himself to get his and Sebastian's card keys. Kurt hadn't mentioned not staying with the New Directions guys, but Sue saw him in line getting his own key and didn't request one for him. By the time the room keys were distributed, Mr. Schue was back.

"We drew 10th position. I checked the list, Sebastian. The Warblers are 12th."

"Thank you."

"You are all free to go up to your rooms and get ready. Be back here in 30 minutes at 10:00 sharp. There are some rooms that we can practice in."

Sebastian carried the garment bag and Kurt pulled the suitcase up to their room. Sebastian opened the door and stepped in and held the door for Kurt to get through. Kurt put the suitcase on the bed that was still made and opened it. He got Sebastian's dress shoes out. Sebastian was already changing into his uniform. He laid his clothes on the bed next to the suitcase. Kurt headed into the bathroom with his styling products and got his hair under control. He put on small amount of eyeliner and mascara so he'd look better on stage. Sebastian leaned against the bathroom door watching Kurt.

"Does the make up bother you?"

"Nope."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure. You're gorgeous. Make up or no make up. It's like wearing fancy clothes. You look hot all dressed up, but you also look hot in your coveralls at the shop or in a t-shirt and shorts."

Kurt put the make up back in their toiletries bag. He turned and kissed Sebastian gently. "Thank you."

"Much better."

Kurt looked confused.

"No upswing on the thank you." He smiled and put his hand on the side of Kurt's face and ran his thumb down his jaw. "You believe me now."

"I believe that you see me that way. I trust you not to lie to me. And if you think I look good in those items, then I have no reason to not believe you."

Sebastian pulled him close and kissed him. "I love you. Let's get downstairs before we're late."

Kurt took his hand. "I love you too."

They walked down to the lobby hand in hand. Once they were there, Sebastian let go and headed to the room the Warblers were in.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Performing 10th gave the New Directions plenty of time to get their costumes on and be ready. They changed in the room they had been given, guys first, then the girls. The guys ran through their number first, while the girls did their make up. Once the girls were ready, they practiced their piece. They practiced the group song and headed up to the balcony where the participating choirs had reserved seats. They watched four groups before they headed down to the stage area. When group number 8 exited the stage, they moved to the wings to be ready to perform.

All of their pieces went well. They had practiced and worked on their numbers and that work paid off. They were excited, but not tense like they had been at Nationals the year before. They received a standing ovation. They exited off the stage. Kurt didn't see Sebastian standing with the Warblers that were waiting to move into the wings as the 11th group took their places.

Kurt headed out into the lower auditorium and found and empty seat and quietly sat down and waited for the Warblers to perform. Sebastian did a great job on "Stand", just like he had at Regionals. The piece was even more polished than it had been. They looked really good.

Their second piece surprised Kurt. It was a One Direction song, "One Thing". The crowd was on their feet before the first verse was finished. Flint, Thad, Jeff, Nick, and David were singing lead taking the parts of the five members of the group. The rest of the Warblers were the vocal band for the song. During each chorus, the group broke out in amazing dance steps that were different each chorus. Kurt saw the flips that were mentioned way back after Sectionals. He didn't know that Sebastian could do them too. Kurt was really excited for the other seniors who finally got a chance to shine.

He stopped the video once the song ended and he slipped out of the audience and into the hall. He headed up to the balcony to sit with the New Directions again. He waited until he heard the applause and then opened the door and went down to where they were sitting. He slipped in and sat next to Sam.

"They were really good. Better than I've ever seen them," Sam said.

"They were. We'll just have to wait and see. I bet a lot of the groups are really good."

"I didn't know that Sebastian could break dance and do flips like that."

"Me either. He surprised me too."

Kurt stood up after the 13th group performed and sat behind Mr. Schue. "I want to know if I am free to do what I want or if I am required to stay with the group."

"I'd rather you not wander around alone."

"I won't be alone. I'm going to go with the Warblers. I'd like to go with them this evening as well as tomorrow. They're going to the Museum of Science and Industry and that sounds like a lot more fun than a sports tour of wherever."

"As long as you're back here to leave with us at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon, it's fine with me."

"Thank you." Kurt moved to go sit with Sebastian and the rest of the Warblers.

When Sebastian saw him walking up the aisle, a huge grin formed on his face. Flint got up and moved to sit somewhere farther down the row and gave Kurt his seat on the end. Sebastian reached out for Kurt's hand.

He leaned in and asked, "So, what's the verdict?"

"I can stay with you guys. Mr. Schue says I have to be back here at 4:00 tomorrow to leave with the group."

"Perfect. The council ordered subs to be delivered to the hotel at 1:00, during the lunch break. We're going to go eat them and come back and continue watching."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The format had been changed from the previous year and this time only the top five teams were in the Showcase. Each group was allowed to perform a single song from their set. After that, the final placement would be determined.

At 4:00 the top five teams names were posted on a list in the foyer. Both the New Directions and the Warblers were on the list. They headed off to warm up again to perform starting at 4:15. Each group sang one song and at 4:45, the wait began. The five groups stood along the edges of the auditorium waiting.

The final three groups were called up to the stage.

"Would the Warblers, the New Directions, and Vocal Symphony please take the stage?"

The placement was announced in reverse order. The 5th, and 4th place announcements were made, leaving the three groups on the stage in suspense.

"For the first time in the history of the Show Choir Nationals, an a cappella group has place in the top three. Congratulations to the Warblers from Westerville, Ohio for placing 3rd!" The audience cheered. The announcer placed the trophy in front of the Warblers. Blaine was standing to the left, followed by the five seniors who sang lead on their group song, and Sebastian on the right.

"Next, in second place Vocal Symphony, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana." The crowd cheered for them as well.

At that point, the New Directions realized that they had won, but they kept quiet waiting to hear the announcement.

"In first place, the New Directions from Lima, Ohio." The crowd clapped and cheered. The announcer placed their trophy in front of the group.

Once the cheering died down and the crowd began to disperse, Coach Beiste, Coach Sue, and Miss Pillsbury appeared on stage and got the group to get in formation and Miss Pillsbury took several photos of them.

After giving everyone directions on what to do, the group headed to change, but before they could exit the stage, Madame Tibideaux made an appearance and approached Mr. Schue and indicated for Rachel and Kurt to follow her. Although she was dressed in her typical clothing, she was quite inconspicuous somehow and no one really noticed her in their excitement to follow the other groups off the stage. She walked to the front edge of the wings on the opposite side of the stage, where they would be alone.

"Mr. Schuester, I attend this competition annually to see up and coming talent. I saw your group last year. They had a lot of energy, but were clearly not ready to perform that day. This year however, they were quite good, as evidenced by your first place finish. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"I would like to point out to you that the misleading information that you supplied for Kurt was corrected by another faculty member at your school. I was pleased to offer him a place in our musical theatre department for the fall. I was quite put out that you jeopardized one student's future by submitting false information and misled me about the merits of another. Rachel is a talented performer, no doubt. But your rave review of her skills is called into question by your misleading and false information provided about another student. I am in a bind because I am not allowed to rescind an invitation to join our school. So, Miss Berry's acceptance is secure. But your actions have caused me to reconsider how to collect additional information on our prospective students. If I cannot rely on their choral directors to be honest, where does that leave me?"

Mr. Schue was tongue-tied.

"I'll answer my own question. It leaves me with a dilemma. I believe that we will be asking for and requiring recorded submissions in addition to the previously collected information in the future. You are a fortunate man to have had so many talented students in such a small school. Several of your students that I saw today would have made good candidates for various music programs around the country. IF you're still employed next fall as an educator, I'd suggest that you learn about the different music programs around Ohio to help your more talented students pursue their passion."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. I'm not the one about whom falsified information was submitted. It would be his place to notify your superiors of your lack of ethics since it was his future that was jeopardized. Good day." She turned her back and walked off the stage. Kurt followed her.

"Kurt?"

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Mr. Schuester."

Madame Tibideaux stopped. "Is there something else I can do for you, Mr. Hummel?"

"No, not at all. I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to study at NYADA."

"But…"

"But I will be attending UC."

"What role did you have in the performance today?"

"I suggested the song the guys and the group performed. I suggested the costumes, and offered ideas on altering them, and contributed to the alterations. I set up the rehearsal schedule, insisting that we start rehearsing about 8 weeks ago. I suggested the male lead singer because he hadn't been featured in the three years he had been in the group. Um, I worked on the arrangement for the guys' song. Oh, and I helped with the choreography on the group number and came up with the idea to pass the lead through the couples rather than have an individual sing the song with the rest of us as back up."

"And Rachel's role?"

"She rehearsed her part and she had originally chosen the dresses and matching shirts for another event. As I said, I suggested that we reuse them and order a few more for the additional girls in the all-girls number and then alter them for this competition. "

"I see. Well, I can truthfully say that I am sorry to hear that you won't be joining us. The department will miss out on a talented new student, who is definitely not one-sided. Our loss is UC's gain. I wish you the best Mr. Hummel. Should you ever change your mind and wish to transfer, the answer will be 'yes'."

"Thank you, Madame Tibideaux."

Kurt turned back to speak to Mr. Schuester as he had requested, but he was no longer standing on the stage.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and the Warblers headed out to a pizzeria for traditional Chicago style pizza for dinner. After they ate, they returned to the hotel. Some of the guys had brought video game systems and set them up in the rooms to compete against each other.

Instead of joining them, Kurt and Sebastian headed back to their room, which was not being used as a gaming center. Nick and Jeff went with the others to play for a while. It was only 8:30, but Kurt and Sebastian were tired from not getting enough sleep the night before. They undressed, showered, packed their clothes away neatly and left out their outfits for the next morning. They got into bed and snuggled up. When Nick and Jeff came back an hour later, they all watched a movie together.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The Warblers met up and had breakfast together. They all checked out of their rooms and put their luggage on their bus. Kurt went ahead and took their suitcase with them as well, not wanting to risk it getting misplaced and left behind when the New Directions repacked their bus.

The Warblers headed to the museum and arrived right as it was opening. They had made it through the exhibits on the 3rd and most of the way through the 2nd floor when Sebastian's phone rang. He stopped and Kurt stopped because they were holding hands. Sebastian pulled his phone out of his pocket. The incoming number was the landline from the flat in Paris.


	29. Chapter 29

"Hello?"

"Is this Sebastian Smythe?"

"It is. May I ask who's calling?" Sebastian kept hold of Kurt's hand and walked them away from the group, over to a bench on the side of the room.

"I'm MaryJane Collins, Renée's tenant."

"Alright." He moved closer to Kurt and held the phone so that Kurt could hear as well.

"I really don't want to be the one to do this, but I don't know what else to do."

"What's going on?"

"Renée – she's dead. I found her this evening in the living room when I came back from studying. I called the police. I think she OD'ed. The police are here. They said they need the next of kin to make an official ID of her body. Someone related to her has to come take care of all of the legal stuff. I found the card you sent with your new phone number and address on it in her dresser, which is where I looked since she doesn't have a desk. I'm so sorry. I don't even know who you are, but I can't find any address book or anything else. I thought maybe you could help me figure out who to call."

"She what?" Sebastian was having trouble focusing.

"I think she OD'ed. There were some bottles of alcohol and there's what looks like may be the remnants of a coke line on the coffee table. The police are here collecting evidence. They said I had to call a relative."

"Give me someone's phone number to contact, please."

MaryJane got an officer to speak to Sebastian and give him a phone number, which Kurt took down. She took the phone back after the officer gave Sebastian the phone number.

"I don't know what to do MaryJane. Renée is my mother. I'm a high school student, and as you saw on the card, I live in Ohio now. I have to figure out how to get to Paris. Please give me your cell number so I can call you once I arrive in Paris."

She gave it to him, Kurt took it down, and Sebastian hung up. Kurt scooted as close as he could to Sebastian and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Jeff walked toward the bench.

"Go get Mr. Marnette and bring him back here, please," Kurt said.

Jeff nodded and texted their chaperone teacher. Within five minutes, Mr. Marnette sat down next to Sebastian. Nick and Jeff stood near them to block other people from trying to eavesdrop.

Sebastian spoke very quietly. "I have to go to Paris today. I'll be making some phone calls, but I'll have to leave from here and go to the airport. My mother died. I have to go."

"Sebastian, I'm so sorry for your loss. What can I do to help?"

"I'm not sure yet. I have to make some phone calls."

Kurt started looking up flights from Chicago to Paris. Then he realized that Sebastian couldn't leave without his passport.

Kurt spoke very quietly, "If you give me your father's number, I will call him. You can call Carole. She's at home with Sarah. Somehow we have to get your passport and stuff before you can leave the country."

"Let's think before we call anyone. My father will have to go too. We can't fly directly from here. We have to get the documents from home. Carole could bring the whole safe and meet us. So, we could fly from here to Columbus and from there to Paris. She could get there by the time we do."

"Alright. So, you need Carole to meet you at the airport with the safe so you can get your documents?" Kurt summarized.

"No, so we can get our documents. I saw that you have a passport. I'm not going back to Paris without you."

"I don't see how you'll convince your father to agree to buying me a ticket to Paris."

"Let's go outside. I don't want people listening in because I'll have to speak in a normal voice for him to hear me." Nick and Jeff stepped away, allowing Kurt and Sebastian to walk outside alone.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They moved outside on the steps. Sebastian dialed his father's number.

"Sebastian, why are you calling me?"

"Mother's dead. We have to go to Paris."

"What?"

"My mother is dead. We have to go to Paris."

"Who is 'we'?"

"You, Kurt, and I will be traveling to Paris. He and I will need to leave Chicago immediately and fly to Columbus and from there fly to Paris. When you leave is up to you, but it needs to be in the next day or two."

"Why do I need to go?"

"I suppose you want me to inherit the flat then? Unless you have proof that you are the joint owner of the flat, it's mine now. French inheritance laws are pretty strict. I am her only heir. Everything she owned is now mine. If you have paperwork showing that you are joint owner of the flat, then you'll need to bring it to Paris and make a claim so that it will become yours. I'll have to sign legal documents relinquishing it to you. I don't want anything from the flat except the few things I left behind. You can do whatever you want with the contents, which of course will include whatever's left of the cash that she's siphoned off of you the last 18 years since she doesn't have any bank accounts. And no I don't know where she keeps the cash, but I'm sure you'll find it if you look hard enough."

"Why is Kurt going?"

"Because otherwise, I'm not. Surely, you can afford another ticket when going there will allow you to reclaim a $million flat, plus the cash contents. You're also going to pay for us to stay in a cheap hotel for the next three nights because that's how long I'm staying. You can stay at the flat or wherever you want. You have her tenant to deal with as well. She's not due to move out until July."

"I can't just leave town."

"Your choice. If you're not there by Tuesday morning, I'll assume that you don't want the flat and I'll start the process of claiming it myself."

"How will you get to Paris if I don't pay for the ticket?"

"I'll borrow it discretely and pay the lender back from the cash I find in the flat or I can just tell the Warblers that my father won't pay for a ticket for me to go to France to deal with my mother's estate. I go to school with a bunch of teenagers of rich, influential people. How long do you think it will take them to withdraw enough cash for me to get two plane tickets and then explain to their fathers why they needed the cash? There's an ATM right inside the building."

"Fine. Head to the airport and I'll buy the two of you tickets to Columbus on the first available flight out. Call me when you get there, so I can give you the flight numbers."

Sebastian called Mr. Marnette, who came outside to meet them.

"I need our suitcase off the bus. We're going to the airport."

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After what seemed like 5000 details and phone calls, 10 hours after the initial phone call, Kurt and Sebastian were sitting on the runway waiting for their overnight flight to Paris to take off. Robert was on the flight as well, but he had bought himself a first class ticket.

Kurt was in the window seat, and even though Sebastian's seat belt was fastened, he managed to find a way to lean against Kurt, who had put a pillow and folded blanket between himself and the plane. Once they were in the air and the fasten seatbelt light went out, they arranged themselves so they were snuggled up as much as possible. It was a long flight and neither of them managed to sleep anywhere nearly enough.

They sat back up for the landing. They waited their turn to disembark and headed to the baggage area before heading through customs. Robert was waiting for them on the other side of the customs area. They stopped briefly for Robert to withdraw some Euros from an ATM and for Robert to call Burt to let them know that they had arrived.

Sebastian took Kurt's hand and led them out of the airport to the transportation area where the taxis waited for passengers. Robert followed along behind. A driver opened the trunk and they put their luggage in. Sebastian gave him the address and he nodded.

Forty minutes later, they arrived. Robert paid the drive and collected his bag. Sebastian grabbed their suitcase and Kurt's hand and practically marched up to a door, opened it, and went inside. They climbed three flights of stairs. Sebastian knocked first, but got no response, so he unlocked the flat door and he and Kurt stepped inside. Robert followed behind.

The place was just the way Sebastian had described it. The living area and kitchen were clean, but that was all that could be said for the place. There were very few pieces of furniture – a small table with two wood chairs, a couch, a coffee table, a floor lamp, and an end table that held an old clunker TV. If the items in the room had been in good shape, it would have been like walking into a 1960s room in a museum. The only things that weren't from that era were the TV and small refrigerator, both from the early 90s. There were no decorations, no photographs, nothing to make the place feel like a home.

Sebastian left the suitcase by the table, but didn't let go of Kurt's hand. He walked to his room and knocked again to be certain that MaryJane wasn't just sleeping. When he got no response, he opened the door, which had a new doorknob with a keyed entry. He saw that the room had been emptied of MaryJane's personal possessions. He walked directly to the wardrobe and opened it. He found nothing inside. He finally released Kurt's hand, but only because he knelt in next to the head of the bed and reached underneath. He pulled out the box that he had kept his journals in. He looked around the room carefully and found nothing else of his in the room.

He carried the box into the living area and placed it on the table. "That's everything that's mine. I will check my mother's room just to make sure that there's nothing else."

He took Kurt's hand again and walked into his mother's room. It wasn't neat and tidy like the other rooms. Obviously MaryJane had kept the other areas clean. He opened the wardrobe and looked under her bed. He opened his mother's dresser and removed their livret de famille and the other papers that were in an envelope and put them in his satchel. He looked through the other drawers to be certain there were no other papers. He took one last look around before they walked back out into the living area.

He walked out of her room and over to the living area window and looked out, still holding Kurt's hand. Kurt pulled him into a hug and held him until he stepped back.

"I need that number to call the police so I can find out where the morgue is."

Kurt pulled his phone out and walked with him to the telephone to make the call. He pulled his notebook out of his bag before he called. He wrote down the address he was given. He turned to speak to Robert, who was still standing five feet inside the flat, near the door.

"You can stay here while I'm gone. I'll call MaryJane and let her know that we are here so she can come give us the keys. I don't have an additional key, so you'll just have to wait until I get back. Feel free to start looking through Mother's room to see if you can find the cash."

Robert finally spoke. "I expected something quite different."

"I explained to you how I grew up. You chose not to believe me. I can't control what you do or don't believe. After I got old enough to feel uncomfortable sleeping in a room with my au pair, I slept on that couch for several years before I went to boarding school. When I came back in the summers, I slept in my room since her student tenant wasn't here. You're free to look around. There's nothing here that's mine."

"She sent me photos of you every Christmas. I sent you Christmas cards and birthday cards with cash in them once you went to boarding school. I assumed that you came home for Christmas since she sent me photos."

"She must have sent you my school photo each year. The school sent out a photo of us to our parents each year at the beginning of December. She must have sent that on to you. I never got any cards from you. She had the only key to the mailbox. Who knows where that is? Probably on her keyring or that charm bracelet she wore. If she has it on at the morgue, I'll ask for it to be bagged up and I'll bring it back. You'll need it to put with the flat key when you sell it. If it's not on that bracelet, you'll just have to hope you find it on her key ring when you search the place. Or now that I think about it, I bet MaryJane has a copy."

Robert just nodded.

Sebastian used the landline to call MaryJane to inform her of their arrival. After he hung up, he walked toward the door. "We'll be back." He took the box and Kurt grabbed their suitcase.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

_Please state the deceased's name and her relationship to you."_

"_That's my mother Renée Lyon." _

"_Thank you."_

He was escorted back out to a small office. Sebastian and Kurt sat at a table.

"_Please sign these documents. We'll need a copy of your ID to put in the file."_

Sebastian handed the man his French national ID card, he signed numerous forms, and was given directions for all of the other things he needed to do and the places he needed to go to do them, which he wrote down in his notebook. He had the officer returned Sebastian's ID to him, Sebastian asked him to read over his notes to make sure they were complete.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"We're going to go check into our hotel before we go back to the flat. I don't want to lose our reservation. I'm going to take you to as many of the places that I love as I can while we're here the next three days. We can never see all the sights in that time period, but I can show you the Paris I love and still see a few of the big tourist areas."

"I'd love that." He squeezed Sebastian's hand.

When they got to the hotel, they checked in using the credit card that Robert had previously withheld from Sebastian. He had given it to Sebastian when they met up in Columbus. They went up to the room for a few minutes.

Kurt said, "Let's rearrange the suitcase to make room for these if we can." He took everything out of the suitcase and put it all back in, including the notebooks.

Sebastian had been staring out the window, but turned to look when he heard Kurt zip the suitcase. "Perfect. I'd like to stop and buy a small lock to put on the suitcase though. I'm not leaving it in here until I put a lock on it. I'm sorry to say that I don't trust the staff at cheap hotels to leave our stuff alone."

"Okay. We can just take turns pulling it or carrying it."

Sebastian reached out for Kurt's hand, and they headed back out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They stopped along the way several times. Sebastian showed him a lot of the places where he spent time. A library, a bookstore, an art gallery, and a park. They stopped in a small shop and bought a lock and put it on the suitcase. They also stopped in a small grocery store and picked up some shelf stable items to eat and some bottles of water since they had so many things to do the next day. Sebastian stopped a few more times and took photos of Kurt or had Kurt take pictures of him or they took selfies together. Kurt could tell from Sebastian's demeanor that he really considered this his last trip to Paris for a really long time.

He rarely let go of Kurt's hand and sometimes he held him even closer by wrapping their interlaced fingers up and over Kurt's head, so Sebastian's arm was around Kurt's shoulders and their hands were interlaced over Kurt's heart.

They arrived back at the flat and found that MaryJane had returned. She was sitting at the kitchen table. Robert was in Renée's room looking through her stuff.

"Hello, I'm Sebastian. This is my boyfriend, Kurt. I'm so sorry for what you've been through. I appreciate you calling me. I'm sure you don't want to stay here any longer than necessary given what happened. Do you have some place to go?"

"I'm staying at a friend's place for a while. I stayed there last night and I moved my stuff there this morning. Here's the key I have to the bedroom door, the entry door, and the mailbox key." She stood and handed all three to Sebastian.

"I'm not really sure what to tell you about the rent you already paid for this month. It's not really in my power to return any of your money because I don't have it. I'm hoping that my father already spoke with you."

"He did."

"Good. I just have one question. Were there any items in the wardrobe when you moved in? I had left a few things in a small duffle on the shelf and a single coat."

"No, I'm sorry. It was empty when she rented the room to me."

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Sebastian." She put her hand on his arm right above the elbow for a few seconds, and then left the apartment.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian, hugged him, gave him a gentle kiss, and then just stood next to him with his arm wrapped around Sebastian's waist.

"Father?"

"Yes, Sebastian?" he said as he came out of the bedroom.

"MaryJane is gone and left her keys. I signed all of the paperwork at the morgue. Once I pick up the death certificate, I have a lot of legal stuff that I have to do tomorrow morning. You'll need to bring your proof of ownership of the flat to this office to have her name removed from the title." Sebastian placed a piece of paper on the table. "We'll meet you there at noon. I'll have all of the utilities turned off on Thursday before we leave. If you plan on staying past Thursday, you'll need to either have them turned back on in your name or stay somewhere else. Dead people can't have bills in their names. I was given a long list of rules and regulations and I don't have any interest in repeating them to you. So, unless you want to hire an interpreter and go to all of these places yourself to check up on whether I'm telling the truth, I'm just going to do what I was told and go back to Ohio once my obligations are complete. We have finals next week and we'll need to spend at least some time studying for them."

"What I am supposed to do with all of this stuff?"

"Well, I guess you can leave it here and sell it with the flat. The new owners will have to deal with it. Given the age of the furniture, I'm sure it came with the flat when my mother bought it."

"That won't bring the value up."

"Not my problem. If I were keeping the place and living in it, my answer would be different. But it's not my flat, it will never be my flat, and because of that, I don't have to figure out what to do with its contents."

Kurt pulled him to his chest and rubbed his back and held him close. He turned to Robert and gave him one his infamous ice king glares and then said, "We'll meet you at that office tomorrow at noon, like Sebastian said. If we're late, wait for us. Our morning will consist of dealing with various government agencies. I'm not expecting the French government to work any more efficiently than ours does. If we're late, it's because we got held up somewhere standing in line and filling out more paperwork."

Kurt let Sebastian go and reached for his hand, but Sebastian walked away. He went over to the kitchen area and looked through a drawer and pulled out an apron. He grabbed a cloth shopping bag hanging from a hook. He looked through the cabinets and drawers. He removed several pieces – a mixing bowl, some utensils, and a kitchen scale. He wrapped the cooking utensils in the apron and placed all of the items into the shopping bag.

"I need you to give me at least 30 Euros because Kurt and I cannot possibly make it to all of these places by noon tomorrow if we have to walk and I can't use the credit card to take a bus or the Metro or a taxi."

Robert opened his wallet and gave Sebastian the cash he asked for.

"Thank you." Sebastian put the money in his own wallet. He picked up the grocery bag from earlier, put it in the cloth shopping bag, put it up on his shoulder, and took Kurt's hand. Kurt grabbed their suitcase and they left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"You didn't leave him a copy of the key to the flat."

"He can lock the bottom lock without the key. I'll give him both entry keys, the bedroom door key, and the mailbox key when he meets us tomorrow. Plus, my mother's set of keys has to be in the flat somewhere since they weren't with her."

They took a bus back to the hotel and arrived without incident, but Kurt could feel the tension dripping off of Sebastian. They walked upstairs to their room and Kurt opened the door and then locked it behind them.

"Let's shower and go to sleep. I know it's like 4:00 in the afternoon in Ohio, but we have to get up in 8 hours to get through all of the things on that list. He started to unbutton Sebastian's shirt. He wasn't being provocative at all, just trying to help Sebastian keep moving.

A half-hour later, they were both in bed. Sebastian was lying on Kurt, who was running his fingers through Sebastian's hair.

"Would you feel better if we reposition in a way that allows me to pet you the way you like? I can only really reach your arm this way."

"Not right now. I just want to lie on you."

"Okay." Kurt kissed the top of his head. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. I'm glad you're here with me."

"I'll always be with you, as much as it's in my power to be."

Sebastian wrapped his arm across Kurt's chest and interlaced his fingers with Kurt's. He finally relaxed and they both fell asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning Kurt and Sebastian packed some of the food they had bought the previous evening in their satchels to eat on their way to collect the death certificate. They went from there to the various other government agencies and administrative offices that they had to go to. By noon, they were both pretty frazzled, but they arrived on time to meet Robert.

They met with an estate lawyer. Sebastian brought all of the necessary documents that he had procured that morning to show that he was the sole heir to his mother's estate. He signed a legal document that indicated that his mother had no job, no bank accounts, no life insurance, no car, no other physical possessions, like boats, and that her only asset was the flat and it's contents, which his father co-owned. He signed the flat over to Robert. He signed tax forms so that her estate could be settled immediately.

He stayed and served as the interpreter for his father. Once all of the paperwork had been signed, Sebastian gave Robert all of the keys.

They double-checked that there was nothing left for Sebastian to do. He took his copy of all of the documents that he had signed. The lawyer offered him an envelope, which he graciously accepted. He folded the documents, pulled out the stack he already had in his satchel and put all of them in the envelope, and put it in his satchel.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian led them to a café with outdoor seating. Robert ordered lunch in his broken French. Kurt and Sebastian shook their heads when the waitress asked them if they wanted anything.

No one said anything at first. Sebastian pulled his notebook out and wrote something and then put an address underneath. He handed the piece of paper to his father.

"Should anyone call or come around asking about her, you can either read this to them or show it to them."

Robert took it from him and looked at it. He could read it well enough to know that it was a note saying that Renée had died and the address was the crematorium where people could go to pay their respects. He just nodded and put the note in his briefcase.

Sebastian opened his wallet and took out the cash they hadn't used for taxis that morning and gave it to Robert. "You have everything now, Father. There are bilingual realtors. If you need suggestions, the lawyer's office can probably suggest a few to you. I'll cut up the credit card you gave me once we get back to Ohio. It should only have around $200 or so in personal charges on it. The hotel is only about $50 a night, plus taxes. And we haven't put any other personal purchases on the card. Any other charges are for the government fees associated with the things we did this morning. So, it seems to me that this is the end of the road. You can do what you want with the property and never have to see me again."

"This isn't how I had planned for things to go."

"Well, since you don't want a fag for a son, you have two more hopefuls for the role of dutiful heir back in Ohio to get it right, I suppose. So, now, you just have two children. I hope for their sakes that they're both straight, not because being gay is wrong, but because I wouldn't wish on them the rejection you have heaped on me."

"I just wanted you to have a good childhood and grow up happy."

"I'm not interested in rehashing the past. You had your chance to be a part of my life, and, instead, you treated me worse than she did. End of story. I had no intention of ever accepting another penny from you, but in order for you to reclaim the flat, I had to come. And going into debt so you could add another tidy million to your own bank account didn't seem reasonable to me. I will consider the tickets here, the taxis, and the hotel bill as part of the brokering fee, much like the realtor's fee – not money you've given to me personally. So, I've done my part and made the process simple for you. Goodbye, Father."

He stood and took Kurt's hand and they headed off toward the nearest bank so they could withdraw some cash. After they left the bank, they walked to the closest Metro station.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got off the Metro near the Eiffel Tower because Sebastian wanted to make sure that Kurt got to see a few of the big tourist areas.

"Have you ever been to the top?"

"No. I came one year on a school field trip not long after I started at the boarding school and we went up to the 2nd level, but there were just too many of us to have the time for everyone to go up and back down. We can walk up to the first level and you can see a lot from there. It's cool because you're high enough up to see most of the landmarks within viewing distance."

"Alright."

They walked around the base for a bit just looking up from different angles, and then they headed to the stairs and walked up to the first level. They walked around looking out across the different parts of Paris.

"That's the direction we're headed next." Sebastian pointed to the east.

When they came back down to ground level they walked into the park area to the southeast of the structure where they could see the whole structure. Sebastian took his camera out and looked around and found some other tourists who were taking photos with actual cameras.

"Will you take our photo? I'll take yours as well."

He took her camera and took a few shots of her with the group of friends she was with. He handed her his camera and spoke where Kurt couldn't hear him as he handed her his camera. She nodded with a big smile on her face.

Sebastian walked back over to Kurt. They stood so they were centered with the Eiffel Tower rising up behind them. Sebastian first stood next to Kurt and wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders, then moved his arm to Kurt's waist. Kurt's arm remained around Sebastian's waist. Sebastian stepped back a little and took Kurt's hands.

"Look toward the Tower for this photo."

She took a few photos. She knelt to get a better angle.

Sebastian quickly dropped to one knee. Kurt looked toward him, sensing his movement.

Sebastian looked directly into Kurt eyes. _"Kurt, I love you so much. Will you marry me?" _

"_Yes, yes, of course."_ Kurt nodded and had a huge smile on his face. Kurt pulled him up to standing.

"_I know it's not even legal here or in Ohio. Later. Next year. In a few years. Whenever we can. I know we talked about waiting until we were living completely on our own to get engaged and I'll understand if you still want to wait, but"_

He interrupted him with a kiss and wrapped his arms around him. _"Sebastian, I love you. Yes, I want to marry you."_

The group of girls that was standing nearby all clapped for them. The one that had been taking photos walked closer and offered Sebastian his camera back.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Best wishes to the two of you!" She waved as she walked back to her group of friends.

Sebastian put the camera back in his bag and wrapped his arms back around Kurt. He picked him up and spun him in a circle and put him back down. "_I love you so much."_ He kissed him again.

"_I love you too."_

"_There's one place I just have to take you. There are hundreds of places to see, but you'll love this place." _

He let go of Kurt enough to wrap his arm around his waist, which Kurt did as well. They walked back to a Metro station and headed to where Sebastian wanted to take Kurt.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got off the Metro and walked a few blocks and arrived at L'Òpera Garnier. They went inside and Kurt's eyes grew large and his jaw dropped as he looked around.

"It's like a fairy tale." He turned in a circle looking at everything.

"It's amazing. There are so many awful things in the world and in life, but I would visit places like this to remind myself that there is also beauty and amazing things in the world too."

"Like you."

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"Don't." Kurt turned and looked him directly in the eye. "You got onto me for not accepting your compliments. It's only fair if you accept mine as well. I think you're amazing."

Sebastian just nodded slightly and squeezed Kurt's hand. They walked around hand in hand just taking in everything around them. They toured the whole building for the next couple of hours.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"You said there are places to go dancing." Kurt stated as they walked down the stairs back toward the sidewalk.

"There are."

"Can we go this evening? I'd like to have a nice dinner and go dancing with my amazing fiancé to celebrate."

They got to the bottom and Sebastian stopped. "We can do that." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt, who blushed from the unexpected PDA.

Sebastian was looking down the street. "I think tomorrow, I'd like us to splurge on tickets for one of the double-decker tour buses. I saw one on our way in. I've been thinking while we were looking around and I think it might be the only way we can see a lot of the sights in one day."

"Okay."

"It stops over there." He pointed to a building just down the street. Let's go down there and look."

They crossed the street and walked down the block to the bus hub and went in to pick up a brochure. They looked through it and looked at the map of all of the stops.

"I bet it would save a lot of time since the bus drives from one place directly to the next."

"It would because with the regular transit we'll have to change buses and get on the Metro at different points. Plus with this, we can get on and off as many times as we want without have to pay to get back on."

"Let's do it. It looks like fun and it seems like the best way to see a lot of places in one day."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Back at the hotel, they stopped at the front desk and Sebastian inquired about an iron and ironing board and was given directions to the laundry area.

They pulled out the outfits they had worn to dinner in Chicago on Saturday night. Kurt turned the iron on and set up the ironing board and ironed their clothes. He was glad that he thought to ask Carole to bring them some clean socks, underwear, and a couple of shirts to switch out at the airport in Columbus when she brought the small safe so they could get their passports and documents they needed. That way they didn't have to try to do laundry while they were in Paris. After he finished, they headed back to their room, changed and went back out to enjoy their late afternoon and evening together.

They went to a club that hosted tea dances in the afternoons and then later in the evening the venue became a more of club scene. Kurt learned the Fox Trot and the Tango. They danced together on and off for several hours. In between they sat close, arms wrapped around each other listening to the music, and watching the other couples dance.

"It's too bad this type of thing doesn't exist in Ohio. It's a lot of fun."

"I agree. It's one of the things I do miss. Ohio is so… I don't even know a term for it. Maybe once we're in Cincinnati we'll find some place like that club in Columbus. I know it's not really the same as this, but we can look. Maybe once we turn 21, there will be some places that we'll like."

"Maybe." He gently pulled Sebastian toward him by wrapping his hand around the side of his face and slightly behind his neck, and then he kissed him gently. "I really like getting to see where you grew up."

"Having you here with me is just amazing. I love you so much and being able to be with you here is like a dream I didn't allow myself to have. I always saw all these couples when I'd go out dancing. Now, I have you."

"You definitely have me." Kurt kissed him again. "Let's dance some more."

Sebastian took his hand, led him out to the dance floor, and pulled him close.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later that night, they were lying in bed snuggled up together.

"I want to save up and come back. I don't mind if we stay in a cheap hotel like this. I just want to come back here with you some time."

"Mmm. I'd like that. There are so many cool out-of-the-way places to go. Tomorrow will be fun though. I've never ridden on one of those double-decker buses. We'll see the sites together."

"I think I want to go around Lima like you did before you left. I want to take pictures of the shop, the lake where I go when I just want to get away for a while, even silly things like the auditorium at school. And some pictures at Dalton too – the garden especially. I want to make a collage, maybe not as big as the ones I made you because I don't know if I can come up with 16 places to photograph. But I want to hang your posters and a new one we create up in our new house. And maybe some artwork. And I want to make a collage from our trips too. And I want to find something cool to do with all of the postcards, which I still need to get while we're here. I know it will take time to furnish the house, but I want to hang some things and make it feel like home."

"M'kay. But wherever you are is home for me." He pulled Kurt into gentle kiss and laid his head down on Kurt's chest and within a few minutes, he had fallen asleep, just like the first night when Kurt told him that he loved him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Sebastian woke up to Kurt kissing him. After a few kisses on the top of his head, Sebastian managed to focus. He scooted up, lay on top of Kurt, and joined in the kissing.

"_Good morning, mon étoile."_ He looked Kurt directly in the eyes with a sweet smile on his face.

"_Well, this is definitely a pleasant way to start the day."_ Kurt pulled him into a passionate kiss. When they broke for air, he said, _"Good morning to you, too,"_ with a mischievous grin on his face and he flipped them and started kissing down Sebastian's neck.

Sebastian laughed at Kurt's antics. _"Is that how it's going to be?"_ Sebastian flipped them back over and started to lick Kurt's ribs causing him to start writhing, but before he got aggravated, he started kissing up his chest and up his neck. _"Two can play that game,"_ he teased.

"_Well, it's definitely more enjoyable with you. I never much cared for this game played in single-player mode,"_ he teased back.

"_Mmm hmm."_ Sebastian kissed him and licked his way Kurt's mouth and restarted the making out.

Kurt managed to flip them back over again and started rolling his hips, causing Sebastian to start saying those words he told Kurt meant "don't stop."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They were at the Eiffel Tower waiting for the first tour bus to leave at 9:30. They hopped on and went up to the upper level. The bus took them through Champ de Mars. Kurt squeezed Sebastian's hand as they rode past where Sebastian had proposed to him the day before. He leaned in a whispered, "I love you."

Sebastian lifted their interlocked hands and kissed Kurt's knuckles. "You said 'yes'."

"I did."

Sebastian smiled and leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you too."

The bus began to move again. They drove past the École Militaire and the Hôtel des Invalides. It turned and drove through the Place de la Concorde and turned in front of the Eglise de la Madeleine.

"It's beautiful in there as well. When we come back some time we'll go inside."

Kurt smiled and nodded.

They rode in a circle around L'Òpera Garnier.

"That was the most spectacular place. I'm glad you took me there."

The bus drove through the center of the Louvre.

"When we come back, we are definitely coming here," Sebastian said. "We could spend several days in there looking at everything."

"I'm sure it's amazing."

"There are lots of fantastic museums that we can go to."

They got off at the next stop and walked across the Pont des Arts bridge and back to the stop and got back on the next bus that came and rode to the next stop and got off again. They explored L'île de la cité. The walked to the far end and sat and watched the boats for a little while. They walked past the Palace of Justice and looked around inside Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. They walked through the center of the isle looking at the buildings and worked their way to the Notre Dame Cathedral. After they looked around inside, they walked around the outside looking at the architecture.

"This is amazing. These places are breathtakingly beautiful. It's hard to believe that there are so many amazing places like this in such a small area. Not that Paris is small, but compared to Ohio, Paris itself is small and there are so many amazing places here."

"It's just really different. The construction on this was started over 500 years before the colonists formed the first states. So, what seems old in your worldview is not old here. In Ohio, a building that is a hundred years old is 'old', whereas here, something built a hundred years ago is nowhere near old compared to this church that was built about 850 years ago."

"You're right. But coming from that to here, it makes it all feel sort of surreal. It's hard to explain. But it's amazing. I'd love to come back here. Maybe even live here."

"You mean that?"

"I do. Maybe we could look into graduate school here. Maybe would could spend a summer in New York City as well. If Finn and Rachel stay together, we might be able to stay in their apartment for the summer while they go back to Lima or something. There are lots of possibilities. I want to find a place that suits us both. We're young. We have time to figure it out."

Once they had made it all the way around, Sebastian led them toward the end of the isle, into the park area, where they could see the Seine and they could sit down to eat some of the stuff they had brought with them.

Sebastian sat really close to Kurt and wrapped his arm behind him and ate one handed so that he could hold Kurt close. Kurt looked over at him smiling, but somewhat confused. Sebastian used the free hand he had to turn Kurt toward him just a bit more and leaned forward and kissed him. Kurt just smiled and took one of the pieces of dried apricot he had and put it in Sebastian's mouth and laughed.

"I love you. Are you trying to make sure no one gets the idea that I'm available or something? We're already wearing matching rings and you have your arm around me."

"Nope, not at all. I'm showing off."

Kurt looked completely confused at that point.

"Showing off what?"

"You, of course," he said with a smug gleam.

Kurt just shook his head and laughed.

"Oh, no. This is no laughing matter." He kissed him again. "I am showing off my absolutely gorgeous fiancé."

"Whatever. You're crazy."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

Kurt just shook his head and laughed again.

"This is everything I ever wanted. Dance with me."

"Right here?"

"Right here."

Kurt put the rest of what he was snacking on and his bottle of water back in his satchel and stood up. Sebastian quickly did the same thing. Then he put his arms around Kurt and started to slow dance with him. He started singing, not loud, but loud enough for Kurt to hear him clearly.

…

_And you play it coy_

_But it's kinda cute_

_Oh when you smile at me_

_You know exactly what you do_

_Baby don't pretend_

_That you don't know it's true_

'_Cause you can see it when I look at you_

_And in this crazy life_

_And through these crazy times_

_It's you, it's you_

_You make me sing_

_You're every line_

_You're every word_

_You're everything_

…

_And I can't believe that I'm your man_

_And I get to kiss you baby just because I can_

_Whatever comes our way_

_We'll see it through_

_And you know that's what our love can do_

…

_And in this crazy life_

_And through these crazy times_

_It's you, it's you_

_You make me sing_

_You're very line_

_You're every word_

_You're everything_

…

When he finished singing, he just held Kurt tight and hugged him. "I mean that. You're everything I ever wanted. I'm not putting you on some insane pedestal, so don't worry that I'm deluded. Neither one of us is perfect, but having someone to love and spend my life with is all I've ever wanted. I love you so much."

Kurt pulled himself together and overrode his leeriness of PDA and pulled back just enough to kiss Sebastian, who was surprised, but happily so, and kissed him back. "I love you too, Sebastian." He held Sebastian close.

He hadn't broken down yet and Kurt knew that he would at some point. There was no way someone could lose their mother and not eventually break down crying. Kurt would be there for him. If Sebastian wanted to dance with him on a small island in the middle of the Seine, he could do that.

Gradually, Sebastian loosened his hold on Kurt and took his hand instead. "Let's walk toward the next bus stop. There's a park on that side too. We can sit and eat while we wait for the next bus to come around."

Kurt interlaced their fingers and happily walked alongside Sebastian. He tried to take in as much as he could, not knowing how long it would probably be before they could come back.

When the bus arrived a little while later, they got on and it drove them past the Palais de l'institut de France, the Musée d'Orsay, the Assemblée Nationale, and then back over the Seine down the Avenue Champs Elysées and down to the Arc de Triomphe.

They decided to get off at the Arc de Triomphe. They took photos and walked around before getting back on the next bus, which took them to the Grand Palais. They got off again and looked all around the area. Sebastian's pace slowed a bit as they were walking away from the area, heading back toward the bus stop.

"Let's go somewhere before we get back on the bus."

"Alright. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, it's a window shopping or browsing trip. I know that you love fashion, but I also know that what's for sale is way out of our budget. Do you want to go anyway?"

"Definitely. I'm okay with browsing. I like to get ideas. It's fun."

"Well, then let's head this way." He held Kurt's hand and led him across the street and headed toward Avenue Montaigne to look in the high-end stores – Chanel, Versace, Fendi, Balenciaga and more.

By the time they reached the end of the street, Kurt was in fashion overload. "Oh, my God, that was so much fun. I would never spend $5000 on a pair of shoes or whatever, but that was so much fun."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Lead the way back to the bus stop, my good sir," Kurt said in his most ridiculous English accent.

"This way, if you please." He directed them back to where they needed to go and they waited for the next bus and got back on and rode it to Trocadéro, which was the last stop, and they got off. They wandered around the area and enjoyed themselves.

Out of the blue Kurt said, "Let's go up."

"Really?"

"Yes. I want to go up to the top with you."

"Let's see if there are any tickets available any time soon."

They walked over the bridge to the Eiffel Tower ticket window and got in line. They bought tickets for the next available time, which wasn't for 45 minutes. After they had their tickets, they rode up to the 2nd level and walked around until it was time to ride up to the top.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"The view is spectacular!" Kurt exclaimed.

"It really is. I've seen photos, but seeing it in person is so much different." Sebastian started pointing out places, like his school, the library, different museums, and other landmarks.

"Do you want to go visit anyone while we're here? I should have asked sooner."

"'I've thought about it and I can't really think of anyone other than some of the people I was friendly with at school. I did think about stopping by there for an hour or so just to, I don't know, have some closure. I never wrote to anyone after I left because I wasn't really that close to anyone. I felt like writing would be more personal than I had ever been with any of them. But maybe we can stop by tomorrow at lunch before we go to the airport."

"Sure. We can do that." Kurt pointed where no one was standing. "Let's go over there." He didn't want to start a controversy at the top of the Eiffel Tower, but he really wanted to kiss Sebastian. They walked to unoccupied area. Kurt pulled him close and wrapped his arm around Sebastian's waist. He leaned into Sebastian wrapped his other arm around the front and turned Sebastian to face him and kissed him quickly. He attempted to step back, but Sebastian had wrapped his arms around Kurt as well and didn't let him step away.

"No one cares here, Kurt. It's okay." Sebastian kissed him again.

Kurt relaxed and they stood together looking out at the view.

"I take photo?" A guy asked in broken English.

"Yes, please." Sebastian responded. He handed the man his camera, which was returned to him after a couple of shots. "Thank you."

The guy nodded and smiled and went back to enjoying the view.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they left the Eiffel Tower, they walked toward the Metro station.

"Which one of these stores is a good place to get souvenirs? I still want to buy post cards."

"Umm." Sebastian looked up and down both sides of the street. "Over there."

They crossed the street and walked down the block and went inside. They headed to the postcard racks and they found ones for all of the places they had actually visited. They looked around the store after they had picked up the ones they wanted.

Kurt was looking through a rack of t-shirts. Sebastian was just wandering around.

"We have to get these."

Sebastian turned to see what he was talking about. Kurt was holding up two t-shirts with Eiffel Tower line drawings in the center. One said "Il a dit OUI." and the other said "J'ai dit OUI."

"They're perfect. We should definitely get them. Do they have our size in black or a darker color? I don't usually wear white t-shirts."

Kurt looked through the rack. "How about gray?" He pulled a gray one out and showed him.

"I like that."

Kurt kept the one in his hand and found another. "Do you see anything else you want to get?"

"No. Let's pay for what we have and head to the hotel. We still need to stop and get something to eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they got back to the hotel, they opened their suitcase and took everything out. They wrapped the journals in the apron and moved them to the fabric shopping bag. They wrapped the utensils and fit them into the suitcase since they violated the rules for what would be allowed in a carry on. Sebastian laid out their new t-shirts for them to wear the next day. They managed to rearrange things until they got the suitcase to zip closed.

They showered and got in bed. They snuggled up with Kurt as the little spoon.

"I'm glad we went on the bus tour," Sebastian said. "It was worth the expense to me to get to show you so many places. Maybe some summer, we can work things out with a student that's renting a flat. Maybe come over and stay for a whole month in July. I'm not sure, but we can work on it."

"We'll find a way."

Sebastian kissed the back of Kurt's neck. "I'm tired, but not sleepy. Let's try to sleep anyway."

"M'kay." Kurt pulled Sebastian's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles then placed their hands over his heart. "I love you."

Sebastian pulled him close and said, "I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got up early, got ready, and checked out of the hotel. They stopped and grabbed some breakfast in the local grocery again on their way to complete the rest of Sebastian's legal obligations. They went to the three locations to have the utilities disconnected, and then back to the Mairie to double-check that there was nothing else that Sebastian needed to do before flying back to Ohio.

Once they were certain that he had fulfilled all of his legal obligations, they headed to Sebastian's school.

"Are you sure you want me to go in with you? I can just wait at that coffee shop we walked past a few minutes ago."

"I'm sure. I want you with me." Sebastian tightened the grip he had on Kurt's hand.

Kurt nodded.

Sebastian felt strange entering the building in street clothes, but went inside to the main office. He secured a pass for both himself and for Kurt for two hours. He asked if they could leave their bags someplace safe while they were in the building. The secretary smiled and took them and slid them under her desk and handed him the pass.

Sebastian led Kurt through the building to the classroom wing and they waited outside a door for the lunch period to start. When the students exited the room, Sebastian stepped inside, still holding Kurt's hand. The teacher saw Sebastian and a smile spread across her face. He quickly thanked her for writing the letter of recommendation that she had sent in for his college application. He told her about the scholarship he had gotten. She congratulated him. They moved on to another classroom and Sebastian thanked another teacher for his recommendation as well.

They headed to the dining hall. Sebastian looked around and found the group of guys that he had lived with for 7 years. He approached their table and some of them saw him and smiled. He and Kurt sat down and suddenly Kurt felt like the speed at which everyone was talking doubled. Several people were talking to Sebastian at once and Kurt couldn't really keep up. He cleared his mind and focused on listening and he caught most of what was being said.

Sebastian introduced Kurt, and all of them went around the table and said their names. Several of them made comments about their t-shirts and rings, congratulating Sebastian.

They stayed and talked through the whole lunch period. Sebastian wrote his cell phone number and his new email address on a piece of paper and it got passed around the table for anyone to put in their phones that wanted it. When it came back around, Kurt folded it up and put it in his pocket. He talked about going to college in the US. He showed them a picture of their house in Cincinnati. He didn't mention either of his parents.

When the lunch period ended, he and Kurt collected their stuff from the secretary and left. Sebastian showed Kurt a variety of places around the school that meant something to him. Afterwards, they headed to the nearest bus station to start their journey to the airport.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, they were back in the Charles de Gaulle airport. They checked their suitcase and found a place to sit and eat the rest of the food they had bought for lunch. After they finished, they went through security. They looked around the stores in the airport for a while. Eventually, they made their way to the boarding area and waited for their flight number to be called.

The flight back was long, but fairly uneventful. There wasn't a lot of turbulence and the babies on board didn't cry much. The flight seemed much longer on the way back since neither of them could really sleep even though they were tired. The jet lag had their internal clocks all messed. They listened to music, snuggled up the best they could, but they didn't talk.

They arrived in Columbus a little after 9:00pm Ohio time. Once they were off the plane, Kurt texted Carole to find out what they were supposed to do. They grabbed their suitcase and took off towards customs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Carole and Dad picked up your car and took it to Trina's house when he flew out to DC this week. So, we're supposed to take a taxi to Trina's and spend the night there."

"Alright. That makes things easier for tomorrow as far as how much driving you have to do."

"Yeah. Let's go grab a taxi and get going."

Kurt and Carole texted back and forth.

"She says that she put some more clean clothes for me in the trunk, along with the contents of my school locker. I owe Sam a thank you. He's the one that emptied my locker for me."

"Well, at least you can study all day tomorrow since you have your books."

"That's true."

"It's our final reading day tomorrow, so we don't have any classes, but we have to be quiet all day."

They rode the rest of the way to Trina's in silence. Kurt grabbed their suitcase and paid the driver.

Sebastian opened the trunk of the car and grabbed the bag of clothes that Carole had put in the trunk before they headed up to the front door and rang the bell.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"It was really nice of Trina to let us stay here tonight," Sebastian said quietly as he lay on Kurt's chest.

"She was really nice to me the last time I stayed as well. I think she and Carole must be really close friends." Kurt ran his hand up and down Sebastian's arm.

"As soon as the game is over tomorrow, we're going home. I just want to go home and spend the weekend in our room, if that's okay with you."

"It depends on if you win. If you win, we'll stay at Dalton tomorrow night. Otherwise, that would be a lot of driving."

"Right. I wasn't thinking straight. I'm just really tired."

"Try to sleep. We'll figure everything out once we've slept."

"Mmm hmm. I love you."

Kurt kissed him on the top of his head. "I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they put their stuff in the trunk the next morning, Kurt found his satchel with his laptop in it, which he was thankful for. That meant he could finish the English and Government papers he had been working that had actually been due on Wednesday, but he'd need to turn them in when he got to school Monday morning.

When they got in the building, they stopped in the office and Kurt got a day pass and a weekend pass in case the lacrosse team won that evening. Kurt carried all of his books up to Sebastian's room. Someone had put the review sheets for each class in the bottom book. Kurt figured it had been Sam who had asked each of his teachers.

He selfishly hoped that Sam was going to hang around Lima for at least a week or two after graduation. He wanted to get some time to do some fun things together before he headed off to Kentucky for the summer. Maybe he'd stay in Lima the whole summer, which would be even better.

When they got upstairs, they opened up the suitcase and emptied it. They grabbed the dirty clothes from Sebastian's closet and sorted everything. Sebastian changed into his lacrosse sweats and they headed to the laundry room, textbooks in hand. They washed, dried, and hung the clothes up that didn't get dried, studying in between. Once they were done, they took everything back to Sebastian's room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian asked, "Do you want to repack everything in case we're heading to Lima after the game?"

"I suppose we could. We'd get home over an hour earlier if we did."

Sebastian started folding the clothes and putting them back in the suitcase. "We'll just put our textbooks in the laundry basket and carry them all down that way."

"Good idea."

Once they finished repacking, Kurt turned his laptop on, sat down at Sebastian's desk and worked on his English paper. Sebastian studied US History lying on his stomach on the bed until they went down to lunch

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they came back up from lunch, Kurt asked, "Can you actually study if we sit together in the bed?"

"Yes. Can you?"

"Yeah." Kurt grabbed the throw pillows and put them against the headboard and put the bed pillow in front. He grabbed his Government review sheet and textbook and took his shoes off. Once he was in the bed, he patted the space next to him. Sebastian grabbed his physics book, slipped his shoes off and sat next to Kurt.

Sebastian got a text at 2:30 reminding him of an emergency Warblers meeting at 3:00.

"I have to go to a Warblers meeting in a half-hour. None of the texts went through while we were in France. I didn't even know about it, but it says 'emergency meeting', so, there won't be any way to skip out."

"That's fine. We can head down there. What time is the bus leaving for the game?"

"I'll text Flint and find out."

While they were getting their shoes on, Flint replied saying that the bus was leaving at 5:30.

"We should go ahead and put everything in the car before we go to the Warbler's meeting. That way we'll have it over with. We can study for an hour between the meeting and when we need to be in the dining hall to eat."

"Okay." Kurt got up and collected all of their textbooks and put them into the laundry basket. He laid their hang-to-dry clothes over the top.

Kurt grabbed his satchel with his laptop in it and the laundry basket full of textbooks and things they needed to study. Sebastian grabbed his satchel with his laptop in it and pulled their suitcase to the door. "I think that's it." He let Kurt out the door and locked it behind them.

They headed down to the parking lot and put everything in the car. They each kept one textbook out to read between the meeting and dinner. On their way back inside, Sebastian stopped. "I'm wearing the wrong socks. I'm going to run upstairs and grab the right ones and I'll be right there. You can go ahead to the Warblers room." He handed Kurt his history textbook and went back toward the dorm rooms.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt walked in the room and sat with Nick and Jeff on one of the couches. Jeff quietly asked how Sebastian was doing.

"He's not talked about it yet. I think he's just pushed it to the back of his mind to get through the next week."

"We won't say anything. We haven't. No one else knows what happened."

"Good."

Jeff leaned over and told Nick what Kurt had said.

Most of the Warblers had arrived, but they were still waiting on a few stragglers.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian and Blaine arrived at the hallway to the Warblers practice room at the same time.

"Should we be honored that you've graced us with your presence at this unusual Friday rehearsal after you skipped out all week?"

Sebastian walked past him and continued to walk toward the Warblers practice room.

"Did he finally put out on your romantic trip to Paris? How did you manage to get the school to agree to let you skip four days of school the week before finals?"

"SHUT UP!" Sebastian's volume was low, but very intense.

"That's almost to the point of being intimidating."

"LEAVE ME ALONE."

"Sounds like he didn't. Too bad you spent so much money on him. I'm sure you could have found someone around here to show a good time in France."

"STOP TALKING TO ME."

They approached the room. "He's nothing but a…"

"I SAID TO LEAVE ME ALONE."

Kurt could hear Sebastian's distressed voice as he approached the room. Kurt moved to the door to see what was going on. Kurt had made it to the area between the two sets of doors and reached out for Sebastian, who walked straight into his open arms. Blaine was a few steps behind.

"What did I say about Sebastian?" Kurt asked, keeping his voice very low.

"Not to bother him."

"Seemed like a simple request. Now go sit down and leave us alone." Kurt and Sebastian walked into the room hand in hand. Kurt led Sebastian back toward the couch where he had been sitting with Nick and Jeff.

"You're not a Warbler. You have no right to be in here."

Kurt spoke loud enough for the council members to hear him. "I thought the motto was 'Once a Warbler, always a Warbler.' Maybe the council should speak to the issue. What are the grounds for being removed as a Warbler?"

David answered, "There are a list of offenses in the Warbler's handbook detailing the specific reasons that someone could be stripped of his Warbler title."

"Do we need David to get it out and read the list, Blaine? To make certain that I haven't committed any of the offenses on the list?"

"No. Never mind. It's fine."

Kurt continued, "I wonder if harassing a fellow Warbler is on the list. No, you probably have to do something worse than just harass a Warbler, probably something like assault him." He was wearing his ice king mask again.

"Sebastian, it is none of my business where you've been all week."

"You're right. It isn't. Can we just get started, please?"

Thad responded. "Yes, of course. We're going to run through all of our songs for the concert Sunday afternoon. The concert starts at 2:00. We will warm up at 1:40 in here and then head to the auditorium. And a final announcement, we will meet at 7:15 to warm up to sing at graduation. There will be no rehearsals next week due to final exams. Everyone move to the auditorium so we can practice where we will be performing."

Kurt and Sebastian stayed seated until everyone else was close to the door. They both stood and Kurt pulled Sebastian into his arms. "He won't say anything else. He got my message loud and clear. If he opens his mouth to bother you again, he knows what I was implying."

"Did you threaten him with that before?"

"No, I just asked him to leave you alone and he said he would, but he seems to have forgotten his agreement. That was just a reminder that I hold all of the cards in this. He won't say another word."

Sebastian leaned in and kissed Kurt. "I love you."

"I love you too. We better go or someone will come looking for us."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt watched the group practice. When the hour was up, he and Sebastian went back to the Warblers room and made themselves comfortable on one of the couches and grabbed the books Kurt had left on the shelf while they were in the auditorium. They left at 4:55 to be at the dining hall doors when it opened.

Nick and Jeff were standing around the entrance when they got there.

"What was that about with Blaine?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Kurt answered. "I don't know what he said to annoy Sebastian so much, but I had asked him to leave Sebastian alone and he agreed to it."

"And your ice king request for reasons to kick a Warbler out?" Jeff asked.

"He knows what that was about. He won't say another word to Sebastian."

"He did something to you. Well, I mean of course he did because you broke up with him. But he actually DID something to you, didn't he?" Jeff asked.

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Honestly, I think he just wants my attention."

One of the cafeteria workers pushed the doors open. Kurt walked in and got in line, walking away from the other three.

"What did Blaine do to him?" Nick asked.

"It's not my place to say," Sebastian responded. "Let's go get in line and eat together and not talk about this anymore for tonight."

The other three got in line behind Kurt and followed Kurt to the table he chose.

"The food here is so good," Kurt said before he put a bite of vegetable soup in his mouth. "I miss the food."

Jeff said, "The food. I see how it is. No, 'I've missed you, Jeff.' Or 'How was your week, Nick?' It's the food he's missed since he spent the weekend here two weeks ago. And here I thought we were his best friends here, but NO he loves the cooks more than he loves us, Nick." Jeff pouted dramatically.

Kurt knocked his knee into Jeff's. "You goof! I've course I missed the two of you. And you are my best friends here. But seriously, the food here is really good. This is my favorite soup that they serve."

"The school really does have good food," Jeff admitted. "We are lucky."

"So, are you excited for the game tonight?" Nick asked Sebastian.

"I am. I want to win, but I wish this was the final game."

"I can understand that. You have a lot of studying to do and other things to do this weekend."

Sebastian nodded and focused on eating so he could finish in time to head out. The others talked about the McKinley prom and the music department concert while they ate.

"I have to run. I have to get to the locker room and grab my stuff and be on the bus in 10 minutes."

"We'll see you at the game."

Kurt reached under the table and took his hand and squeezed it. Sebastian smiled. He grabbed his tray and headed off.

"We're going to go change into regular clothes. We'll wait for you right inside the stadium entrance so we can sit together," Jeff said before they got up and left.

Kurt took his tray and put it on the conveyor belt. He looked around and found Blaine sitting by himself.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt sat down at the table that Blaine was sitting at and spoke very quietly. "Bring your tray and let's go outside."

Blaine followed him outside and sat his tray down on a bench and resumed eating.

"I thought we had closed the book on the past, Blaine. What was that about today?"

"I just hate him."

"Why?"

"Everyone likes him. The Warblers have done better with him on lead than we did with me on lead. He has everything. The council members all like him. Nick and Jeff were my friends first. And top of everything else, he has you, and your whole family – and I have no one."

"Things are not always what they seem, Blaine. Mind your own business and stop harassing my boyfriend. I thought you had been seeing the counselor and getting some help."

"I went for a while. I thought it was helping. Then Cooper came back and everything just went to hell. He got a new lead role on some TV series that's starting to film this summer. It's 'Cooper this' and 'Cooper that'. I hate it that he came here. You were here that weekend. People have been talking to me just to get information about him. Dalton was my place where I was the focus, not him and not Sebastian. You were my best friend. Now, it's like I'm invisible again."

"That was like 6 weeks ago or something. You really need to find someone to see. The way your family is treating you isn't right. But also your absolute need to be the center of attention or you aren't happy isn't right either. You need a find a way to be happy as yourself – happy with who you are. It's hard to make friends when you want them to be more interested in you than you are in them. Those aren't friends, they're fans. Your brother has tons of them, but does he have any real friends? Maybe he does. I don't know. But living a life where your only happiness comes from people praising you is pretty hollow. No one stays on top all of the time. You need help."

"I need you."

"Not possible, Blaine. I can't be that lifeline. You have to learn to swim. You nearly drowned me. A good therapist can be like a life jacket and swimming coach. Please get some help. And don't harass Sebastian. He has his own life issues to deal with. Most people do."

Blaine didn't say anything.

"Maybe you can find a counselor that you can see in Chicago when you go back to work at Six Flags."

"Oh, I'm not going to Six Flags this summer. Well, I did apply and I've been accepted, but I've also applied to work at the same summer camps that Rachel is applying to."

"I see. So you're going to stay at your aunt and uncle's for the summer?"

"If I get one of the positions I will. Otherwise, I'll go to Chicago. If we both get a position, we're going to carpool and save gas."

"Whatever you choose to do, Sebastian is off-limits. I don't know what your motivation is. I have three guesses, but I'm figuring it's a combination of the second and third. One – you're just trying to make him as miserable as you are. Two – you're trying to break us up to get him out of the picture to punish me so I will be alone again, making me miserable. Or three – you're doing it just to get attention from me, like you are right now. Whatever your motivation is, he's not going to break up with me. Making someone else's life stressful on purpose is a really mean thing to do, so just stop. And if for some reason Sebastian did break up with me, that would not cause me to turn to you."

Blaine just sighed.

"Look. You screwed up. I've wised up. I realize that by attaching yourself to Rachel as her new 'best gay', you're vying for a place in my life because she's my sister-in-law. But she and I are just now beginning to talk and that's only because she actually sincerely apologized. She and I are not friends. Maybe in time, but not yet. And honestly, the only reason I am even willing to consider that is because she's family now. But you can't use her as your lifeline either. She's trying to get her own life in order. I have to go now. I'm not going to be late to Sebastian's game."

Blaine just watched Kurt get up and walk around the end of the building toward the student parking lot.


	30. Chapter 30

Nick, Jeff, and Kurt met up to sit together during the game. The game started not long after they got to their seats. It was a tough game. There were just five minutes left in the game and the score was 13-13. The three of them were on the edges of their seats watching closely. Score! Someone on the Dalton teamed made a goal. They managed to keep the opposing team from scoring and they won 14-13. Kurt was thrilled for Sebastian, yet still had the mixed feelings of wanting to go home for the night and the next day.

Nick and Jeff hung around with Kurt waiting for Sebastian after the game. When Sebastian came out to the ticket area where they were waiting for him, Jeff practically jumped on him.

"That was awesome!"

"Thanks, Jeff. I didn't know you two were coming."

"It was a great game! Congratulations," Nick said much more calmly.

"Thanks for coming to watch. Let's head toward the car. I'm tired."

Nick and Jeff walked toward where they had parked and waved back to Kurt and Sebastian.

Kurt unlocked the car and Sebastian more or less collapsed in the passenger seat.

"So, congratulations are in order again. You did a great job." He leaned toward Sebastian, who realized what Kurt was doing and leaned towards him and they kissed.

"Thank you. I didn't score the winning goal, but I did score four times, so not too shabby."

"You were great." He kissed Sebastian again.

"I want to go home." Sebastian closed his eyes and leaned his head against the car window. "I just want to go home."

"Alright. I'll drive us home. We already have all of our stuff. What about what you'll need for the game tomorrow?"

"I can't have what I want. We have to go back to the school for the night. But I don't want to."

"Why do we have to go back?"

"Coach gave an order. I only barely managed to get him to let me ride back to the school with you. We're having an after-lunch meeting, then leaving for the game at 1:30."

Kurt pulled out and headed back to Dalton.

Sebastian's mood was still subdued when they got back to Dalton. He pulled the suitcase and Kurt carried the laundry basket with their books. They made it upstairs and inside Sebastian's room before he fell apart.

"Let's shower and get in bed, okay?" Kurt wiped the tears from Sebastian's face and kissed him gently.

"Yeah."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian lay on the bed, face down in the center. Kurt put his phone and his travel container of lotion on the stack of books still in the laundry basket next to the bed. He chose a playlist and played it quietly. He turned the twinkle lights in the window on and turned the overhead light off.

He straddled Sebastian facing his feet and worked his way up giving Sebastian a full-body massage. He had cried most of the way through their shower and was still crying silently, with occasional sharp intakes of air. Kurt turned and worked on his arms first, then moved to his neck and back. He had Sebastian turn over once he was done.

"Would you like me to do the front?"

"Not really. I'd just like to lie on you."

"I can do that." Kurt put the lotion down on the books and climbed over Sebastian and lay up almost against the wall.

Sebastian rolled onto his side and let Kurt get comfortable, and then he scooted over and lay down so he was nearly half on Kurt. His left arm was extended out behind him and his right arm was around Kurt's neck and he was running his fingers through the hair at the base of Kurt's neck. Kurt's right arm was wrapped behind Sebastian's neck with his hand on Sebastian's right shoulder.

They lay in silence for around 10 minutes before Sebastian started to speak. He had mostly stopped crying.

"I won't miss the person she was. I miss the person she could have or should have been. The fact that she's gone doesn't make me sad, but the fact that it doesn't make me sad actually makes me sad. I'm sad that I'm not sad. It doesn't even make sense."

"Sure it does. It makes sense to miss what you never had, but you know you could have. I loved my mom and she loved me, but I was so young that I miss what I could have had if she had lived. We both have that with Carole now. She may not have given birth to either of us, but she loves both of us."

"I'm getting use to that. And having her is amazing, but it's also a sad reminder."

"I know. I wanted my dad to not be alone, but then I didn't want Carole to take my mom's place. Sort of like you were saying, it doesn't make sense, but it does."

"And I guess until this week, I always figured I'd have a place to stay in Paris, even thought it wasn't home like your house has become for me, it was still a place I could stay in the city that I know and feel like I belong in. And now that's gone too. How much money can one person need? If I ever get like that about money, kick me in the butt or smack me upside the head."

Kurt laughed. "Maybe I'll tickle you since I'm not a violent person. I don't think I could bring myself to hit you or kick you, even as a joke. But I don't think that money will ever be an issue with you."

"You didn't just say 'yes' because of where we were or what had happened did you?"

Kurt used his free hand to stroke Sebastian's cheek. "No, I didn't. I said 'yes' because I love you. Who knows how long it will be before Ohio legalizes same-sex marriages. If they haven't by the time we want to have the ceremony, we can go to New York or somewhere and get married."

"Or Paris, if France legalizes it first."

"Sure."

"I guess the only upside to all of this is that now my split from my father is complete. He has the flat. I have what was mine. I won't ever have to have any other interaction with him."

Kurt laughed.

"What's funny?"

"Well, it's not exactly funny, more ironically sarcastic. Your father brought you here to Ohio. Maybe I'll send him a thank you card instead of a wedding invitation."

"That's very you."

"I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not."

"Me neither."

They both laughed.

"I can't completely hate him. I love you too much to be mad at him since he brought you to Ohio and that's how we met. If you had stayed in Paris, I would have missed out on having your awesome self in my life."

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"Surely you have figured that out by now. But in case you've not been paying attention," Kurt tickled him slightly. "You are my favorite person in the whole world. I already agreed to spend the rest of my life with you. I think you're amazing. And I love you. And I'll keep telling you until you get tired of hearing it."

"Not possible."

Kurt kissed picked Sebastian's hand up from where it was laying on his shoulder and kissed the palm of his hand and placed Sebastian's hand over his heart instead and then cover Sebastian's hand with his own. He tipped his chin and Kissed the top of Sebastian's head. He ran his other hand up and down Sebastian's back. "Mmm." He hummed as he placed more kisses on his still damp hair. "_I love you so much, mon joyau. Now and forever."_

They lay in silence in that position for a good half hour before Kurt noticed Sebastian's breathing change and his body completely relax.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning they were sitting in bed next to each other. Kurt brought up a topic he didn't want to discuss. "I have something to tell you that I don't want to tell you because I just don't want to deal with it anymore, but here goes."

"That sounds ominous."

"More like obnoxious."

"Oh. Come here." Sebastian let his knees fall slack and pulled Kurt in between his legs. He wrapped his arms around his chest and got him to relax back on his chest.

"I talked to Blaine after you left for the game yesterday."

"I see." He ran his fingers along Kurt's chest, just firmly enough to not tickle.

"I've pretty much figured out why he was bothering you. He just wants attention. Specifically, my attention."

"By bothering me?"

"Yes. He knows that I will ignore him, but I won't ignore him bothering you."

"So, he wants me to break up with you so he can have your attention."

"He might be okay with me staying with you and paying attention to him. That thing with Cooper hit him hard. He hasn't reintegrated into Dalton life very well. For him, Dalton was his kingdom – where he was the lead singer of a prestigious group and he had a fan base. He came to McKinley and got the lead in the play, had a featured part at Sectionals, was the lead in the Christmas special they made for PBS. And he had my attention initially, and Rachel's attention. But when he came back here, you were lead and he didn't win his position back."

"I remember when he came to visit in the fall with the tickets. Trent said something along the lines of 'Is this your triumphant return to Dalton?' and when Blaine complimented us on how we sounded, Trent pointed out that we would have sounded better if he were still part of the group."

"So, he had his 'triumphant' return end up not so triumphant. He didn't get his position back and he felt like you stole his friends, meaning Nick and Jeff, specifically, but also Trent, Thad, David, and all of the Warblers that you're friendly with. And he doesn't have any friends anymore. I was pretty blunt with him and told him that the friends he thought he had were more fans than friends because to make and have friends he needed to care about the other people as much as he wanted them to care about him. And I told him again to get professional help."

"That doesn't really seem ominous or obnoxious enough to warrant you bringing this up."

"Ah, well, he and Rachel have applied to work at the same summer camps, and if they both get positions, he's going to stay in Lima at his aunt and uncle's for the summer and carpool with Rachel to work."

"Oh, joy."

"So, he wants to spend the summer in Lima and have my attention and Rachel's too, it seems. I made it clear that there won't be any attention from me even if you broke up with me."

"Well, that's not happening." Sebastian started kissing the side of Kurt's neck.

"I just wanted to make sure that he was aware that he wouldn't be part of my life, even if you weren't around. He doesn't want me back as his boyfriend. He wants me back as his 'best friend' aka his biggest fan. Not happening."

"So, that's the end of that topic. I don't think Blaine wll bother me again this week because of your veiled threat to tell the council what he did to you. And he wants to be lead Warbler again."

"I think Trent should be lead next year. He has a fantastic voice and he's really cute."

"He is. He's very sweet. And he would give other people a chance to have featured solos."

"He'd have to give up his council seat, though. I'm going to talk to him the next time I see him and encourage him."

"It can't hurt to try. So, what's our plan for after the game? It starts at 4:00. We should be able to head to Lima by 5:15 or so."

"That will get us home by 6:30 or so, depending on the traffic. I'll have time to let the pants out, if we really need to."

"And you've got everyone divided up with an opposite-sex partner. Am I even going to get to dance with you?"

"I don't know. I will always think of our Prom here as our Senior Prom. This is more like a senior party for me. I was still thinking of not going, but Dad reminded me that there is just one dance at the end of high school and that I should reconsider my boycott. But if anyone pulls anything, we're leaving. We're all adults now legally and I'm not getting caught up in anything that could end up with me facing any type of charges. That reminds me, I want to print a picture of us from Prom and put it in a frame too. And copy all of the images from the SD card to a DVD."

"We can go to Sam's Club as soon as it opens tomorrow, if you want."

"Definitely. It's hard to believe that we only have a week left, technically just four days of school left."

"I know. I'm packing up my room Wednesday night and I'm coming home as soon as my last final is done on Thursday."

"You're not staying for whatever activities take place on Friday?"

"I don't actually know of any, but I guess you're right that I should be sure that I'm not required to be here for something."

"It will be a full house that weekend. Sam's family will be here all weekend. Oh, no."

"What?"

"We left the air mattress at our house in Cincinnati. Now, we won't have it for when they stay at our house."

"Who slept on it?"

"Stevie and Stacey."

"It will be fine. There's the sofa bed in the family room. A couple of people can sleep down there, like maybe Sam's parents."

"You're right. I stress out about things too much sometimes."

"It's just because you care so much."

"If you're home Friday, you can help me with the desserts for our graduation party on Sunday. I have no idea how many people are coming because Carole's been planning it. But there'll be 15, even if she only invited family. So, I'll be doing a lot of baking."

"Sounds fun."

"Let's get busy studying even though I just want to stay like this and cuddle you while you pet me."

"Alright. How about we lie here, cuddle, and review?" Sebastian kissed the other side of his neck.

"Good plan, but I think we might need actual books or notes for that," Kurt laughed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They did actually get started on their reviews and they studied as much as they could before lunch. They packed everything back in the car before heading back in to eat. Kurt kept his satchel with his laptop and notes so he could finish his Government paper and his English paper, which he just needed final proofreads, while Sebastian attended the lacrosse meeting after lunch.

At 3:00, Kurt packed everything up and headed out to the parking lot and drove to the game. He got there in time to get a good seat and hoped to get a few decent photos of Sebastian playing.

The game started on time. It was the most fast-paced game of the season, which was to be expected. Kurt managed to get a few photos of Sebastian in position watching the ball being thrown around the part of the field he wasn't standing in. He was never fast enough to capture Sebastian making a goal.

The game moved into the final five minutes and Dalton was up by one and they had possession of the ball. They managed to keep hold of the ball and keep the other team from scoring. They won! 12-11.

Kurt took photos as Sebastian was given the trophy during the brief award ceremony after the game. It took longer than they had anticipated for them to get started on the drive to Lima, but they finally headed out at 5:30.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian dumped his stuff in the backseat of the car and then got in the passenger seat. He kissed Kurt as soon as he shut the car door.

"Sorry it took so long," Sebastian said they pulled out of the lot.

"It's okay. You won! Congratulations!"

"I found out that there's a team awards banquet tomorrow at 5:00."

"Okay."

Sebastian talked about the game itself for quite a while on their drive before the topic changed to other things.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Well, the pants are about an inch too short."

"I'm just going to be honest and tell you that I don't really care. It's a costume party, not an important business meeting or something that will impact my life in the future. I am sure that I will not be the only person there with a costume that doesn't fit perfectly. I'm sure some people will be wearing completely ridiculous outfits that they threw together and others will be wearing something that they have leftover from two years ago." Sebastian slipped the pants off and put them over the back of the desk chair.

"You're right. You're right. I'll relax. It's supposed to be fun. And mine won't be perfect either because I am not wearing a fake mustache all evening."

"Let's just shower and actually get ready to go."

"Mmm… shower. And our bed."

Sebastian tickled him. "Earth to Kurt. We can't go to bed after we shower."

"Spoil sport."

Sebastian laughed at him and grabbed him and tossed him onto the bed. "Better?"

"Much." Kurt pulled him down and kissed him.

Sebastian started undressing him and kissing down his chest. And then he suddenly stood up and walked off, swaggling his tush.

"Bas?" Kurt finished undressing and followed Sebastian into the shower. "You tease."

"Nope, not a tease. I fully intend on following through with what I started, just not on the bed."

Kurt followed him into the shower. "Is that so?" He pressed Sebastian to the shower wall and started kissing him.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Surprisingly, they made it downstairs by 7:45 for the obligatory before-Prom photos. Kurt, Sebastian, Sam, Puck, Finn and Rachel all posed together. Then they divided up into smaller groups and had more photos taken. Finn was dressed in slacks, a black dress shirt and a red and black patterned vest to go with the red flapper dress that Rachel was wearing.

Sarah joined in the photos, dressed in her birthday dress and Carole took pictures of her with Puck, who had decided to dress as one of the _Men in Black_ agents. He put his sunglasses in his pocket for his pictures with Sarah. She and Carole and a friend of hers and the friend's mom had gone out to dinner together.

Sarah threw her arms around Kurt and then Sebastian once the photos were done. "I missed you. Guess what?"

"What?" they both responded.

"I get to stay forever. When you were gone, the judge gave Aunt Carole and Uncle Burt permission to keep me forever."

Kurt picked her up and spun her around. "You seem happy about that."

"I am happy. But I think that makes me your sister, not your cousin. I've been thinking about it."

"I see. And I think you're probably right."

"But I'm not sure what to do about it. I've always called Carole 'Aunt Carole' and I have a mother, but no one can find her."

"Sebastian and I have the same problem. Carole is our mom too, but we had our own mothers before too."

"Maybe we can all sit down and talk about it sometime," Sebastian suggested.

"That's a good idea," she said.

Kurt sat her back down. "We have to go or we'll be late. We'll be here in the morning. We're going to go to Sam's Club in the morning, but we'll be back."

"Okay."

Finn and Rachel had already left, and everyone headed out because the limousine had pulled up. They picked up their "dates" at Santana's on the way to the school.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They lined up with their "dates" before they went inside – Puck with Lauren, Sam with Kendra, Kurt with Brittany, and Sebastian with Santana.

Kendra had dressed in an 80s-esque outfit to go with Sam's David Bowie costume. She looked really different than usual because Brittany and Santana had styled her hair in the puffy 80s style and Kurt had only seen her with her hair down a couple of times. Lauren had dressed as Beatrice from _Men in Black_ to match Puck. Brittany was wearing an early 70s flower child flowing outfit. Santana sexed up her John Travolta outfit by not wearing the black collared shirt or the jacket. She had obviously had Tina help her take the vest up so it fit her like a glove.

The 8 of them headed into the photo booth area right away and had their picture taken as a group and then in the pairs they came in to show off their matching costumes. Kurt, Sebastian, Brittany and Santana stayed and took a few more photos with Kurt and Sebastian standing side by side with Brittany and Santana standing side by side in front of them and one of each of them with their real dates.

Kurt had missed the practices for the group songs, but Sam insisted that he and Sebastian still be allowed to sing. The guys had practiced "Stand" to sing back up for Sebastian. Kurt sang "You Are Loved". Tina and Kurt performed "ABC" like they had at Sectionals, minus the choreography. Kurt and Sam sang "Under Pressure". Kurt and Sebastian sang "Pocketful of Sunshine" with Brittany and Santana as their back-up singers. Other members of the group performed a variety of songs throughout the evening.

They danced together in a group, and with partners, but they switched all throughout the evening. They split up and the girls danced in pairs and the guys danced in pairs, even Puck and Sam danced together mocking each other mostly, but having fun. They each danced with Kurt and no one said a word.

When the dance was over, they left and headed out to Kurt's Navigator, which Burt and Carole had dropped off so they'd have a way home afterwards. The three guys climbed into the back row, allowing the four girls to get in more easily. Lauren rode shotgun. The 8 of them headed to Steak 'n Shake because it was the only place besides Denny's that was open. After they finished eating, Kurt dropped the girls back off at Santana's, and then headed home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian opted for a long shower when they got home and slipped into bed to snuggle as soon as they got out.

"That was significantly more fun that I had anticipated it being," Kurt said.

"I'm glad. I had fun too. Santana is something else."

"Yeah, well, if we were the type to swing both ways, those two girls would try have us as a four-way. Be careful, Santana has fangs and claws."

"Oh, I can tell, but they're both great dancers."

"We still need to take them to Columbus to that club. Maybe this summer we can arrange it so that Nick and Jeff spend the weekend with us here or in Cincinnati and we can meet up with the girls at the club for the evening."

"Sounds fun."

"So does kissing you." Kurt moved to lie on top of Sebastian and started kissing his neck.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian were up at 6:00 and got dressed for the day. They spent a couple of hours studying before they left for Sam's Club. While they were waiting for the photos to be printed, Kurt texted Carole and asked if they could talk to her and Burt when they got home. They returned at 11:20. Burt and Carole came upstairs at 11:30. By then, Kurt and Sebastian had changed into their Paris t-shirts and had put the photo of Sebastian kneeling in front of the Eiffel Tower in a frame, which Kurt was holding.

Kurt opened the door when they knocked. He pointed to the end of the bed and they both sat down.

"Cute t-shirts. What do they say?" Carole asked.

Sebastian answered first. "Mine says, 'He said yes.'"

Kurt followed up by saying, " And mine says, 'I said yes.'" Kurt turned the frame around and showed it to them. "Sebastian proposed when we were in Paris." He handed the photo to Burt.

"So, the two of you are engaged?" Burt asked.

"Yes, but obviously we can't actually get married because it's not legal yet," Kurt answered.

Carole stood up and hugged them. "Congratulations! I'm really happy for the two of you."

She sat back down next to Burt.

"I expected this. I can't say that I expected it already. I figured it wouldn't be until after you both moved into the house later this summer. But now, then, or whenever, I'm glad for you both. You're good for each other."

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're not going to run off to New York and elope or something, right?"

"Well, not any time soon. I mean if it's not legal in Ohio in a reasonable amount of time, we would consider it. But we would invite you to come."

"And if the Supreme Court overturns the states that have already made it legal, we might go to France if it's legalized there at some point."

"Alright," Burt said. "Well, congratulations to the two of you. Is this information something you will be sharing with other people or just the two of us?"

"It's not a secret," Kurt said. "I'm not going to go out marching around Lima with Sebastian on my arm declaring him to be my fiancé. I have some sense of self-preservation," he laughed. "But we'll tell our friends."

"Got it," Burt said. "So, I can tell people."

"Sure."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went downstairs with Carole and Burt so he could speak to them privately.

Afterwards, he and Sebastian went to Puck and Sarah's room. Kurt called Finn.

"Hey Finn. I'm going to put you on speakerphone. Puck, Sarah, Sebastian, and I are all here"

"Okay dude. What's going on?"

They spoke about what had happened that had caused the two of them to go to France. Puck knew that Sebastian's mother had died, but Sarah did not.

Kurt spoke to Sarah. "Yesterday, you told us that we're your brothers now and we've all talked about how Carole is our mom even though all four of us had mothers."

"Uh huh. Your mother died when you were little. Sebastian's mother didn't love him just like our ma didn't love us and now his mother died too. And Finn's father died when he was a baby."

Kurt said, "I want to know what everyone thinks of calling Carole and Burt 'mom' and 'dad'."

Sarah responded first. "Well, I never called my mother 'mom' and she called our father 'father' most of the time when she talked about him – mostly when she was drunk. Noah called him 'papa' sometimes. But he was never around that I can remember, so I never called him anything really."

Sebastian spoke, "I called my mother 'ma mère' which is French for 'mother' and I called my father 'father' at his request. So, I've never used mom and dad tor refer to my parents either."

Finn said, "I've called my father both 'father' and 'dad', but I've wanted to call Burt 'Dad' for a long time, but I thought it would upset Kurt.

Kurt respsonded, "They're fine with all of us calling them 'mom' and 'dad'. Is that what we want to do?"

Puck answered, "I don't know. It will take time for me to be comfortable doing that, but I am fine with Sarah calling them that if she wants to."

"I want to, but I will probably mess it up a lot at first," she said.

"Thanks okay, sweetheart," Sebastian told her gently. "I'm sure we all will since it's new for all of us."

Finn said, "I'm sure I will too."

"Okay then. I want to."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt rode with Sebastian back to Dalton. He brought along a handwritten copy of the math formulas he needed to know for his final and reviewed them while the Warblers rehearsed and he waited outside for the rest of the family to arrive. Burt, Carole, and Sarah arrived about 10 minutes later.

Once they were up on the sidewalk, Sarah ran and jumped into Kurt's arms and he spun her around. When he sat her down, she spun herself several times in her birthday dress just to watch the skirt flare out. When she stopped, she said, "We're going to my first ever concert. Aunt Carole, I mean Mom told me about how I have to be very quiet and still and listen to the music."

"She's right, but I think you will like it. It's a mix of orchestra music, which is just instruments, and the Warblers singing."

"She said Sebastian will be singing a lot."

"That's true. Let's get inside so we can watch." Kurt led them around the side of the building to the outside entrance into the auditorium. They found their seats and sat down. The concert started a few minutes later. Kurt noticed Sarah moving her index finger in rhythm with the orchestra pieces and bepopping her head just slightly in time with the Warblers' songs. She was definitely enjoying herself.

Afterwards, when Sebastian met them in the lobby, Sarah jumped up and he caught her. "You sing really good. You should be on one of those TV shows where people sing."

Sebastian laughed. "Why thank you very much, Sarah. I'll keep that in mind." He spun her around in a circle, causing her to laugh.

"We can go outside and go for a walk until the National Honor Society ceremony starts, if you want," Kurt suggested.

"Is there something to do outside besides walk?"

"Well, Miss Sarah, there are flower gardens," Sebastian answered.

"I like flowers." She slid down. "Let's go see the flowers." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sarah started talking again as soon as they were outside. "I liked your concert. I didn't know that you played the flute," Sarah said. She turned to Carole and asked, "Can I learn to play an instrument too? Kurt plays piano and Sam and Noah play guitar and Sebastian plays the flute. I want to learn to play something."

"Sure, sweetheart. We'll talk about it and figure out what you think you'd like to learn to play."

"Okay. There were a lot of instruments today that I didn't know the names of. I think I'd have to know how they sound to know if I'd want to play one."

Kurt responded, "That's a really good place to start. We can look up videos of people playing different instruments and see which ones you like the best."

"That sounds fun. What's the National Honor Conduction and what is an awards banquet, Sebastian?"

"It's an induction," Kurt corrected.

"I don't know what that means."

"It a ceremony where you get to join something," Kurt said. "This is an induction into the National Honor Society. You have to get good grades, be a good leader, and get recommendations from teachers to be invited to join the National Honor Society."

"That sounds hard."

"It is," Kurt said. "Sebastian worked really hard on his schoolwork this year."

"And the awards banquet?"

This time Sebastian answered. "Well, I've never been to one here, so I'm not completely sure, but I saw them setting up tables for food and desserts in one of the smaller rooms near the dining hall. So, I think we're going to eat and listen to the lacrosse coach talk about how the team did this season."

"Oh. Well, at least the food and desserts part sounds like fun."

Kurt laughed. "You're right."

She took off once she caught sight of the flowers. Carole followed her and answered her questions about what the flowers were called.

Kurt walked next to Burt with Sebastian on his other side. "She seems happy."

"She is. She was a bit upset Monday when we had to tell her that no one had been able to find her mother. But she was happy to get to stay with us. She wants to live with us, but she wants her mother to be okay too. She was worried that they would find her and she would have to go back to live with her, but she's still concerned that no one can find her. We may switch all the rooms around once you two move out, but it will still be your home."

"It's fine, Dad. Whatever works. We know that you love us even if we end up sleeping on the sofa bed in the family room at some point."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The lacrosse banquet started just a few minutes after the National Honor Society ceremony ended. They had finished eating and they were all standing in the dessert line.

"I want one of everything," she said quietly to Kurt.

Kurt said, "You pick the one you think you'll like the best and Sebastian and I will each take something different and you can have a bite of ours."

"Really?"

"Sure. That way you can try new things without making yourself sick by eating four desserts."

She pointed out what she wanted and Kurt picked it up, chose his own and carried them back to the table. Sebastian took two desserts as well. There weren't many other young children at the event, but she sat up straight and followed the lead of the teens. She tried each of the desserts and then took the one she wanted for herself and ate it slowly while the coach gave a speech that she didn't pay attention to.

Sebastian stood up and walked to the front when his name was called, as did the rest of the lacrosse team.

"Sebastian has been our team captain this year and it is my pleasure to award him with this year's MVP award as well. He has been our top scorer at every game."

Everyone clapped for him. Kurt managed to pull his phone out and get a decent picture of the coach shaking Sebastian's hand.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Congratulations, Sebastian! That means you were the best player, right?" Sarah asked when they were back outside.

Kurt answered her. "It does. He got a patch to put on his letterman jacket for winning the state title, which means his lacrosse team is the best in the whole state. And he got that second patch that says MVP to show that he was the best player on the team."

"That's really cool, Sebastian. Just like when the Cheerios got first place, right Kurt?"

"Right. You head to the Navigator with Mom. I'll be there in just a minute."

Kurt grabbed Sebastian's hand and stepped back inside the lobby. He pulled Sebastian to the men's restroom. As soon as they were both inside, he locked the door. "I hate having to leave so early. But we have to get Dad to the airport. I love you."

"I love you too." Sebastian kissed him. "I'll see you in a few days."

They hugged and went back outside. Sebastian waved from the sidewalk as they drove past on their way out of the parking lot.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt reviewed for his pre-calculus test again on the way back to Lima. When they got home, Kurt changed and took the government review sheet to Sam's room. He plopped on the bed next to Sam.

"So, I want to show you something before we review." Sam handed him an envelope.

Kurt opened it. It was Sam's financial aid award package. "That's great, Sam! So you're going to be able to live in the dorms and not have to commute, and you'll be close enough to visit us whenever you want. It's perfect."

"I really hope I can make this work and I don't get some crazy roommate who makes it impossible to sleep."

"Remember that you can request a room change."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm still just not quite feeling like it's real."

"It is though. You did it. We just have these exams. Let's go back to reviewing for government since that and English are what we have tomorrow. We're all taking the same English class next year and we can study together. I'm glad we'll have a class together."

"Me too."

"So, back to this review sheet…"

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, Sam went back to reviewing for English and Kurt headed into Puck's room to quiz him. Kurt took his European Geography review sheet and started writing the questions on index cards as he read them to Puck. If he got it right, Kurt put them in one pile. If he got them wrong, Kurt told him the correct answer and put the card in a different pile.

The first time through, he had 35 cards in the "right" pile and 15 in the "wrong" pile. Kurt went through all of the ones he got wrong the first time and asked them again. He moved the cards to the correct pile if he got them right the second time through. They kept at it until all of the cards were in the correct pile. And then they went back through all of the questions one last time. The few he missed, Kurt corrected his answer and asked again afterwards.

"I think you're ready," Kurt said. "Just relax and focus. You can do this. Keep the cards. Review them tonight before you go to bed and again tomorrow after you get to school and you're in the room where you'll take the test. There will probably be some questions that are not from the review sheet. Skip those unless you're sure you know the answer. Once you've answered every question on the test from the review sheet that you know the answer to, go back to the beginning and start answering the questions you think you know the answers to. Once you've done that, go back and look at the blank ones and see if you can guess anything even remotely reasonable."

"That's a good method. Why did no one tell me this before?"

"Maybe because you never asked anyone how to do better on tests?"

"I guess. I'll try your method tomorrow. I usually just freak out after the first four or five I don't know the answer to and get mad."

"Don't get mad. Just focus and answer all of the ones you know first. You can do this."

"Got it."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Monday night, Kurt helped Sam and Puck review for Algebra 2 and Spanish. He had his French and Spanish tests the next day.

They baked one of the large pizzas from Sam's and sat around reviewing in the dining room. Kurt put headphones on Sarah and let her play games on his laptop so she would have something to do since Carole was at work. They all headed their separate ways when it was time for Sarah to go to bed.

Tuesday night, Kurt worked on his final art project that was due the next morning. He also reviewed all of the equations and concepts he needed to remember for his pre-calculus test.

Wednesday evening, he and Sam baked cupcakes to take to the end of the year Glee meeting. They made chocolate cupcakes and frosted them with white icing and decorated them with the UC logo in red.

Kurt had also ordered all three of them different UC t-shirts to use as part of their "Future Plans Reveal". Sam's was red, Kurt's was black, and Sebastian's was gray.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Thursday they turned their books in during each class period and they got their final exams handed back. Kurt and Sam met up with Puck outside his European Geography classroom on their way to lunch.

"So?" Kurt asked.

Puck turned the test around and showed them a B+ on his test. "I got a freakin' B+. My grade for the semester came up to a C, which is a long, long ways from the F I had I midterm."

"Excellent!" Kurt exclaimed. "That means no summer school."

"I'm graduating Saturday. It's done! I'm so glad this is finally over."

"You and me both," Sam said.

"But you signed up for four more years of torture," Puck said as he shoulder bumped Sam.

"Yeah, but not four years of studying stuff I hate. Plus, the university has a lot of help for people with dyslexia, unlike this school."

"Well, that's cool. Let's eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt sat through the last period of the day thinking. It was over – completely over. He hoped to never re-live a dumpster dive or slushie facial ever again. He got a pass about 15 minutes into the period to go to Miss Pillsbury's office.

He entered her office and shut the door behind him. He hadn't been to see her in a while and he noticed that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring, but he didn't say anything. She could have taken it to be cleaned.

"Kurt, I asked you down here because I hadn't given you any type of update on my progress with the issues that you brought to me. I have been working on it outside the realm of the school itself. I went to the superintendent with the information you had given me. I just wanted you to know that there will be significant staff changes before the school year begins again in the fall. I know that's of no help to the students who have been poorly educated or at best received a mediocre education at this school."

"It's a start. By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late for anything to be done this year anyway."

"My goal is to get the new staff and the staff that will remain from this year trained before the school year starts. I will be holding mandatory sensitivity and diversity training. The coaches will be giving talks to the teachers on what they expect from their players and the teachers. A new minimum GPA for sports team eligibility will be introduced. Tutors will be assigned to anyone not reaching the minimum level, starting with the returning athletes whose GPA is under the minimum already. They will have tutors starting the first week of school."

"That sounds like a good plan."

"I hope so." She looked distressed at this point and took a deep breath. "This is a piece of personal information for you that you cannot share outside this room. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Schuester will not be returning in the fall. He's being given a one-year sabbatical to go back to school himself and take courses in music and history pedagogy. If he completes the appropriate coursework, he will return to the school the following fall. And the only reason he wasn't let go with the other staff members was because he led the Glee Club to a national title this year. The superintendent felt that it would be in the school's best interest to give him a chance to redeem himself."

"I see. So, there won't be a Glee Club next year?"

"There will be, if the students want one. Coach Beiste, Coach Sue, and I will be the sponsors."

Kurt laughed. "That's… that's… there are no words for that."

"I'm aware of our different styles of leadership. The goal is for the club to be student-led with us as the advisors."

"More like the Warblers, then."

"Yes. The students will elect a 3-member Glee Council. The male lead and/or female lead will also be voted on for each musical selection."

"Well, that sounds much more fair. Especially, if the people competing for the solo spot can't vote. You can ask Artie and Tina how we chose the solo for Regionals this year. That method worked well."

"I'll do that."

"The slushie machines are being removed from the hallway near the cafeteria. They will be placed in the concession stand and only be sold during sporting events."

"Great idea."

"And liquids of any sort have been added to the list of non-allowed projectiles and throwing drinks will be a punishable offense."

"Finally."

"I'm sorry that these things have take so long. Coach Beiste has been a huge help with all of this. The last school she taught at had similar problems and she helped that school get things straightened out."

"Good."

"Provided that Will has fulfilled his education requirements, when he returns, the club will become an official class. Students will learn to read music, learn about arranging music, and take tests."

"That's great."

"It is because the band members will also get credit for the course. The school is going to move to a block schedule and offer 8 courses per semester. Many students will continue to take 6 courses, plus two study halls, which will allow them to get help while they are at school. Other students will want to use the extra classroom time to take more electives than they previously could."

"You have been a very, very busy person. I'm sure the students are going to benefit from your hard work. I have just one other question. It's my understanding that Mr. Schuester is heading to Broadway, not going back to school."

"In regards to Will's career choices, if he chooses not to fulfill the education requirements to resume his teaching position a year from this fall, the school will look at staffing needs and attempt to hire one person to fill those needs or potentially two part-time teachers, if necessary. I had pushed for that to happen this fall, but the superintendent was adamant that Will be given a chance to resume his position."

"I see."

"In addition to the other training I mentioned, this summer, I will be taking a class in how to be an effective extracurricular activity leader, as will Coach Beiste, Coach Sue and the other staff members who currently sponsor afterschool clubs."

"This school might actually be a decent place to learn next year."

"I hope so. I really do feel bad for the students who have been here. Spending time with Coach Beiste is helping me to toughen up and be more self-confident. I hope these changes really do make a difference. I just wanted you to know that I'm trying."

"I appreciate that."

The final bell rang. Kurt stood and left.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt grabbed the containers out of his locker and took them to the choir room. He sat them on top of the piano, but didn't open them.

Mr. Schue got everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, take your seats. Will the underclassmen please come down?"

Rory, Joe, Artie, Tina, and Sugar came down front. Mr. Schue sang "My Life" with them to the seniors.

They stayed where they were and the seniors sang "You Get What You Give" to them. After lots of hugs, everyone sat back down.

"So, I asked for the seniors to let us know what they're doing after graduation in a "Future Plans Reveal". Who wants to start?"

Kurt raised his hand and grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him down front. They opened the lids on the containers. "We've brought cupcakes indicating where we're going in the fall." Kurt took one out and held it so that everyone could see it. No one said anything. He sat the cupcake back down and whispered something in Sam's ear. They turned their backs to the group and unbuttoned their shirts and took them off and turned around.

"The University of Cincinnati?" Rachel asked.

"Yep. The University of Cincinnati," Kurt responded. "I'm going to be studying musical theatre. Their program is ranked 3rd in the country."

"I'm studying art," Sam added.

"Congratulations, you two," Mr. Schue said.

"Thank you. Feel free to have a cupcake." They grabbed their shirts and a cupcake, and then went back to their seats.

"Who's next?"

Mike stood. He said, "I'm going to Alvin Ailey."

"That's great, Mike," Kurt said. "Congratulations."

"What's Alvin whatever-you-said?" Finn asked.

"It's a dance school in New York City."

"Cool, dude. You'll rock that."

"Thanks."

Mercedes stood up next. "Sam posted my video from disco week online and it got me noticed by an indie record label in LA. I'm going to be a back-up singer on the label and hopefully work my way up to putting out my own CD."

"Wow, that's amazing, Mercedes!" Sugar said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

Puck stood up next. "I'm staying here in Lima and studying HVAC installation and repair."

"That's a good field," Artie said. "That and cars are like the things people will always have fixed."

Puck just nodded and sat down.

Quinn stood next. "I'm going to Yale to study drama."

"That's great, Quinn," Tina said. "I'm glad for you."

She smiled and sat down.

Santana, Brittany, and Kendra stood up next. Santana was the one to speak. "The three of us got cheerleading scholarships. Me and Britt to the University of Louisville."

"Go Cardinals!" Brittany added.

"And I'm going to study nursing at IUPUI in Indianapolis," Kendra said.

"That's really great," Mr. Schue said. "Who else? Finn, Rachel?"

They stood up together. "Finn and I will be going to New York City, where I will be studying at NYADA. Finn is going to work for a year while continuing to consider his college and career options."

"Alright, then. Does anyone have a song they'd like to sing?"

Rachel stood up and went to the front. "I know I've spoken to everyone in this group and apologized. I've learned a lot in the last few months. One thing is that no matter how talented you are, sometimes things don't work out. People can sabotage you. Other people can undermine your confidence until you nearly give up. People can walk all over you until you feel unheard. I've been that person too many times. The other thing that I've learned is that I need to look at myself and get my own life in order rather than try to boost myself up by tearing other people down. This isn't really a song about any of that. But I do love this song and haven't had a chance to sing it. She sang a ballad version of "The Show Must Go On". By the end, she was nearly in tears.

Kurt was the only one in the room that understood the meaning of the song. She and Finn still hadn't worked out their differences and she was going to New York, with or without him.

"That's was really lovely, Rachel," Mr. Schue said. "Anyone else?"

"Sam and I have a song," Kurt said. They went down and Sam grabbed a guitar. The drummer took his place. They sang without any other accompaniment. Kurt sang the verses and Sam joined in singing the harmony on the choruses. By the last chorus everyone had joined in.

_No one else can speak the words on your lips_

_Drench yourself in words unspoken_

_Live your life with arms wide open_

_Today is where your book begins_

_The rest is still unwritten_

Everyone clapped when they finished.

"Well, that seems like a fitting close to the year. I wish everyone all the best. Enjoy your summer."

Mr. Schue headed to his office. Most everyone got up and took a cupcake or two.

"Did you not get into NYADA, Kurt?" Tina asked.

"I did. I just decided that UC was a better fit for me."

"You said UC is ranked third. Where's NYADA ranked?"

"Around 20th."

"Oh, wow. I had no idea. I did what you suggested. I joined the Debate Club and the AV Club. I figured both of those would help me be a better performer in a round about way. I'm going to work at the Asian Summer Camp again this summer, plus take some dance lessons."

"All good ideas."

"Are you leaving right away?"

"No, we'll be around during the summer. We're working for my dad at the shop. We will be going to Cincinnati some of the time. We already have a place there."

"By 'we', who do you mean?"

"Oh, me and Sebastian. I'm not sure what Sam's doing for the summer. He hasn't made up his mind yet."

"So, Sebastian's going to UC too?"

"Yes. We're living together off campus. Sam will be in a dorm."

"Maybe I can come down and visit."

"Sure. It's only a 2½-hour drive. We've got a 2-bedroom place. You may end up on an air mattress until we can afford more furniture."

"That's fine. I've slept on it at your house before."

"Grab a cupcake if you want one. I need to go collect the containers and get to the shop for my shift."

They got up and went down to the piano. Tina took a cupcake. Kurt closed the containers, stacked them, and picked them up. Sam went back up to his seat after stuffing the last of a cupcake in his mouth and grabbed his backpack. He and Kurt headed to the Navigator.

"Kurt, wait up," Finn called from down the hallway.

Kurt and Sam stopped and waited for him. "Can you drive me to the shop?"

"Sure. Where's your truck?"

"At the shop. Burt towed it this morning. LeRoy is coming to get Rachel."

Kurt unlocked the Navigator. Sam got in the back, giving Finn more legroom in the passenger seat.

Once they were all in, Finn started to talk. "So, I went to Mr. Schue today to have him sign my yearbook." He paused for a while.

"And?" Kurt prodded.

"And… he told me something."

"Something?"

"Something weird."

"Okay."

"Something weird like?" Sam asked.

"You weren't here yet, but back when Glee started, I didn't really want to join."

"Not a surprise. It wasn't and isn't exactly a way to be popular," Kurt said.

"Well, Mr. Schue made me. He what's the word when someone says they'll do something bad to you?"

"Blackmail?"

"Yeah, yeah. That. He blackmailed me into joining."

"How?" Kurt asked.

"He called me into his office and showed me a bag of pot. He said that it had been found in my locker during a random locker search. He told me if I'd join Glee Club, he'd keep me from getting in trouble for the pot. It wasn't mine and I told him that it wasn't."

Kurt pulled over at the next possible place. "Say that again. Mr. Schue blackmailed you to join Glee?"

"Yeah. I mean after a while I really started to like it and I was glad that I joined. But yeah, he blackmailed me."

"Text Mom now and tell her to meet us there."

"Okay."

Kurt pulled back out on to the road and drove the rest of the way to the shop.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone," Carole said. She leaned back in the chair she was sitting in and closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure what to say," Burt said. "Go ahead and take your truck. It's ready."

"Thanks. I'm going to go over to the Berry's."

She sat back up and admonished Finn. "Say nothing, Finn. I'm absolutely 100% serious. NOTHING. If you think you can't manage that, then text Rachel and tell her that you have to work and you need to come to the house this evening. Burt and I need to figure out what to do without anyone else knowing about this right now."

"If she asks, I'll tell her I'm keeping a secret that's a surprise and she'll stop asking because she loves surprises. I just have to think of a surprise she'll like for later."

"Fine," Burt said.

Finn got up and left.

Kurt was the next to speak. "I'm going to tell you that you need to talk to Miss Pillsbury about this. I can't say why because I agreed to keep some private information private, but if you want some kind of action taken about this, go to her. She's probably still at the school right now."

"Okay. That's weird since they are engaged, but I trust you," Burt said. "Let's get up to the school before she leaves."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

An hour later, Sebastian showed up at the shop. He put his coveralls on and came out to help get the oil changes done. Kurt checked on his work, gave him a quick kiss, and praised his efficiency at doing the oil changes. He went back to working on the transmission on the truck he had been working on.

At 7:00, they closed the shop and headed back to clean up and change.

"Are you ready for marathon baking tomorrow?"

"Do I get marathon snuggles tonight?"

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." He leaned forward and kissed Kurt.

"You can have whatever you want tonight after we unpack your car, shower, eat dinner – you know the regular stuff we have to do."

"Hmm. Whatever I want, eh?" He kissed Kurt again.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"So, now that everything is done and we're in bed, what is it that you want?"

"Just you. It's always just you. I love you." Sebastian raised his arm, giving Kurt room to scoot over and lay his head on his chest. Once Kurt was in place, Sebastian wrapped his arm around him. Kurt wrapped his leg over Sebastian and scooted as close as he could get.

"I love you too. No more nights at Dalton."

"I know. I'm really glad to be home. I love you." Sebastian pulled Kurt close.

"I'm glad you're home. I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday, Finn and Puck went to Artie's for an end-of-year gaming day. Sam stayed home and baked and cooked with Kurt, Sebastian, Carole, and Sarah. By the time they were done, the dining room table had desserts lined down the center and the top shelf in the fridge was full.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Saturday morning, Kurt and Sebastian were the first ones up as usual. They made breakfast for themselves and Sam. Once everything was ready, Kurt went upstairs to wake Sam up and bring him back down to eat with them.

"Oh, wow," Sam said as he rubbed his eyes again. "Thanks for making me breakfast."

"It's the first time we've been able to have breakfast together in a long time."

"Mmm. French toast and pancakes?"

"Carbs don't exist on graduation weekend."

"Ah, good to know." He laughed and put some of both on his plate.

They ate and talked. It wasn't long before they had company wearing pink pajamas.

"How come no one told me we were having a special breakfast?"

"You were sleeping, sweetheart. I didn't want to wake you up," Kurt answered.

"But I love French toast. You should always wake me up if there's French toast."

"I'll remember that," Kurt laughed. He got up and got her a plate. "Tell me what you want."

She climbed up on the stool he had been sitting on. "One of everything, please. You're going to teach me how to make this stuff, right?"

"I will."

She put a bite in her mouth and chewed it up. "Good because it's delicious. I've decided that boys who can't cook are lame. I'm going to grow up and find a boyfriend like you three and Noah. One who will cook and eat with me."

"Good plan," Sam said, trying not to laugh.

A few minutes later, Puck came down the stairs. "Sarah?" he said quietly.

"I'm in here eating breakfast."

Puck walked into the kitchen. "Now, how is it that everyone but me got invited to the special breakfast?"

Not missing a beat, Sarah answered, "You were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up."

"I see. Is there any left for me or did you eat it all, Squirt?"

"There's some left, except I ate the last egg. You'll have to make another one if you want one."

"I'll be fine." Puck grabbed a plate and helped himself to what was left and started to eat standing up.

"So, today's the day. We're all graduating. I didn't think it was going to happen," Puck said.

"I had my doubts too," Sam said.

"I had mine too. I had to get 17 credits after I got here last fall."

"Well, you all three did it. So, it's time to celebrate. We'll it's time to go through the ceremony today and celebrate tomorrow."

"Did you see all of the desserts that we made yesterday, Noah? Go look on the dining table."

Puck walked over to the doorway. "That's a lot of desserts."

"And Stevie and Stacey are going to be here this morning. And Kurt's going to fix our hair like princesses and paint our fingernails and toenails. And Sam has a new dress for Stacey. And we're going to dress up fancy and go watch the graduation."

"I know you're very excited. Since you're already up, maybe Kurt should do your hair first."

"Okay, but I want him to do our nails together like a salon."

"That's fine. Since Sebastian and Kurt cooked this for all of us, Sam and I are going to wash the dishes. You go upstairs and let Kurt do your hair."

"Okay, Noah."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At 11:00, Sarah opened the door before Stacey even managed to ring the doorbell. "Come on upstairs. There's a surprise."

"Stacey's here!" Sarah yelled up the stairs on their way up. She took Stacey directly to Sam's room and knocked.

He opened the door and let them in.

"Close your eyes," Sarah told Stacey.

Sam opened his closet and pulled out the dress and laid it on his bed. Kurt came in, followed by Sebastian.

"Open them!"

"Oh, Sammy. It's beautiful! It's mine?"

"Of course, it's for you. Kurt's going to fix your hair and do your nails with Sarah before you put it on though, okay?"

"Alright."

She followed Kurt back to his room and climbed up on the bed and sat down for Kurt to do her hair. Sarah and Sebastian trailed behind them.

He braided it the same way that he had done Sarah's. Once he was done, he had both girls sit down and put their hands on the breakfast tray. He painted their fingernails while they chattered. He did their toenails afterwards and had them sit on the floor in front of his bed when he finished. "I'm going to play a movie. Stay there until I come and tell you that you can walk around, okay?"

They both nodded.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian went back to Sam's room for a few minutes.

"That dress is really pretty," Kurt said.

"I know. I lucked into it when I went in Goodwill one day last week. $4 was a steal."

"We need to feed them before we get them dressed. Can you go find Stevie please?"

"Yeah."

Kurt and Sebastian took Sarah and Stacey to the kitchen and not far behind them was Stevie with Sam. They sat the three kids up to the island and made grilled cheese to go with the soup that was already done and ready to eat. Kurt texted Puck, who showed up quickly to eat with them.

The teens ate quickly and cleaned up while the kids finished eating.

"Alright. Time to get dressed," Kurt declared.

Stevie followed Sam and Puck to Sarah's and Puck's room. Kurt and Sebastian headed to Sam's room with the girls. "You two go in and put the dresses on and tell us when you're ready for us to tie the bows for you."

A couple of minutes later, they opened the door. Kurt tied the bows.

"I wanna see myself," Stacey said.

"Come on. Kurt has a big mirror in his room."

"I know."

They took off and adjusted the mirror on the vanity so they could see themselves.

"I look like a princess just like Sarah," Stacey said with a huge smile on her face.

Sebastian took some pictures of the two of them sitting on Kurt's vanity chair together.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A half-hour after lunch, the three kids were sitting on the sofa in the family room and the four teens were getting dressed. When they left to go to the school, they found the four adults sitting down to eat in the dining room.

"Everyone is ready and watching _Aladdin_ downstairs," Kurt told them on the way out.

"Thank you," Mary said. "Stacey had been wound up for hours. I needed break."

"You're welcome. We'll see you in a little bit."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian took his camera and took photos of the other three in the choir room after they had their robes on. Once they had to go to line up, Sebastian went to wait outside the auditorium for everyone else to arrive.

They sat in two rows. Hiram and LeRoy sat with Burt, Carole, Nana Ruth, and Sebastian. The Evans family and Sarah sat in the row directly in front of them. They cheered when Finn, Rachel, Puck, Kurt, and Sam's names were called. Sebastian took photos of each of them as they received their diplomas.

Once the ceremony was over, Sebastian took more photos of each graduate with their families and individually.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

About a half an hour before they needed to leave to go to Dalton, Sebastian took Sarah up to her room to talk to her in private. He sat down on her bed and she stood facing him.

"It's okay if you want to stay here with Stacey instead of going to my graduation. It won't hurt my feelings. I know it's a long drive both ways and the ceremony isn't really all that interesting."

"But I want to go."

"As long you're going because you want to and not because you think you have to, that's fine."

"But you're my brother now and I love you. I want to go too. Don't leave me behind." She stepped closer and hugged him.

"Sweetheart, I won't leave you behind if you want to go."

"Then, I'm going. Stacey will be here when we get back and her mommy said we can stay up late and watch a movie with you and Kurt and Sam when we get back. And she's going to be here all day tomorrow too. And you only get a graduation once."

"Okay." He kissed her on the cheek. "I need to go put my school uniform on before we leave."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian walked into their room and closed and locked the door behind him. The tears he was trying to hold back escaped down his cheeks.

"Bas? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just told Sarah that she could stay here and play with Stacey if she didn't want to go with us since it's such a long drive. She hugged me and told me that she loved me and of course she was going to my graduation."

"She's a sweetheart."

"I know. She's been through a lot and she's amazing. She's the only person to say that to me besides you. It just hit me hard. I haven't even been here that much."

"But children are so accepting. You've been really kind and sweet to her. She associates that with Noah and he tells her that he loves her."

"I didn't say it back. She caught me off guard."

"It's alright. You can tell her whenever you feel like it's a true statement to make."

"I have to change." He walked into the closet and put his uniform on and came back out a few minutes later. "Ready."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Dwight, Mary, Stevie, and Stacey headed out for the afternoon and evening to visit with a few people they hadn't seen since they had moved away the year before.

The rest of the crew headed to Westerville in the Navigator. Burt drove and Carole rode up front with him. Sam and Puck climbed into the back row and Sarah put herself in between Kurt and Sebastian and talked all the way there.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Everyone enjoyed the graduation dinner, most especially Sarah who was still in awe of the building and loved the fancy food served for dinner. When the dinner was over, Kurt followed Sebastian while everyone else went to find seats in the auditorium. He managed to get a few photos of Sebastian in formation with the Warblers and a few of him by himself and a couple of him with Nick and Jeff before he went to sit with everyone else.

The Dalton ceremony was much more ceremonious – more pomp, more circumstance, more boring speeches. People did not clap or cheer when the graduates' names were called. Kurt took some photos of Sebastian being handed his diploma.

Once the ceremony ended, Kurt got Nick to take a few group shots and then he took a few shots of just his parents with Sebastian. Before Sebastian turned his robe back in, Kurt ran out to the Navigator and put his cap and gown back on and had Nick take a few photos of them together in the garden. Afterwards, Sebastian went back inside and came back out to the parking lot wearing his cords around his neck and carrying the tassel from his cap.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"That's it. You're all high school graduates," Burt said on the drive back.

"Except me," Sarah said.

"Yeah, you've got a while to work on it, sweetheart," Carole said. "But you'll get there."

"And tomorrow we get to eat all of those desserts in the dining room!"

"Exactly right," Kurt said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

One pizza, three baths, three kids in pajamas, two zipped-together sleeping bags, and one Disney movie later, they finally had all three kids asleep on sofa bed in the family room.

Kurt and Sebastian went up to their room and showered, climbed into bed, and went to sleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt kissed Sebastian awake. _"Good morning, mon joyau."_

"_Good morning, mon étoile." _Sebastian rolled Kurt over and continued the kissing. _"I love you."_

"_I love you too. I want to give you my graduation gift very first."_

Sebastian moved so that Kurt could get up. He got up as well and pulled a box out from under the bed. Kurt slipped some underwear on from the dresser and pulled something else out of the drawer and came back to the bed to find the box from Sebastian sitting in the middle of the bed. He handed Sebastian two packages. Sebastian took them.

"Unwrap the larger one first, please."

He carefully removed the paper. He ran his hand across the leather journal cover. "It's beautiful. I love it." He noticed that the front of the flap had his name stamped into it. He ran his fingers along his name. He opened it up to look at the inside. On the inside of magnetic flap, opposite the spine, there was a divided pocket for a couple of pens. The words were stamped along them like words on the spine of a book. "Je t'aime" and underneath "mon joyau." He ran his fingers along the words and smiled. He opened the smaller package to find the Cross pen and pencil set. He took them out of the box and slid them in, closing the flap over the top to keep them from slipping out. "This is really beautiful. It's perfect. Thank you."

He leaned forward and kissed Kurt gently and ran his thumb down his cheek. He put the notebook in his lap, still holding it with one hand, and pushed the box toward Kurt.

He opened the box and pulled out the tissue paper. "It's the hat I liked so much!"

"It is. It looked so good on you and I thought it would look fabulous with your leather jacket and the studded boots."

"You're right. It will." Kurt put the hat on and got up and pulled his leather jacket out of the closet and put it on.

Sebastian whistled quietly. "Very hot. Especially shirtless with the black boxer briefs."

Kurt laughed. "I'm only wearing it this way for you."

"I would hope so."

"I love it. Thank you." He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian.

Sebastian laid the journal on his shelf next to the bed. Kurt put the jacket in the closet and laid the hat on the dresser. He got back in bed with Sebastian.

"You're overdressed for my next idea," Sebastian said, kissing down Kurt's neck.

"I can fix that."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At 7:00, they slipped downstairs in their pajamas and shared an omelette and headed back upstairs for more snuggling.

"I know today is our graduation party, but more importantly it's your birthday. I just want you to know that I have a plan to celebrate your birthday, but it won't be today because my plan involves just the two of us. It will be a surprise."

"Okay."

"I love you." Sebastian pulled him closer and ran his hand up and down Kurt's arm.

They talked and snuggled until it was time to go downstairs and help with the cooking.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At 9:00, Kurt, Sebastian, Sam, Mary, and Carole were in the kitchen preparing food. As much as Sarah usually loved to join in the cooking, she decided that playing Barbies with Stacey was a lot more fun.

Puck took Stevie out back and played football with him for a while. He headed out at 10:30 and picked Nana Ruth up at the nursing home and stopped by Kendra's house to pick her up as well.

By 11:00, 16 people were sitting around the table. Platters and bowls were being passed around. Everyone talked, ate, and enjoyed themselves.

Kurt used his index finger and drew "I heart U" on Sebastian's thigh, and then he took Sebastian's hand under the table and interlaced their fingers. Sebastian turned and surprised Kurt by kissing him gently.


	31. Chapter 31

At 1:00, the guests for the graduation party started to arrive. Nana Ruth stayed for the first hour, and then Noah ran her back to the nursing home and came back. All of the Glee Club members showed up at some point during the party. Some just stopped by briefly, having their own family events to attend. Quite a few of the Warblers made the trek to Lima as well.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

While the group of Warblers that came were engaged in some video games and generally just hanging out in the family room, Kurt pulled Trent away from the group and took him upstairs into his dad's office.

"What's up with the secrecy?" Trent teased.

"I wanted to tell you that I think you should be lead Warbler next year. I know that you are on the council, but you're really good and I think you'd make an excellent lead singer."

"You're serious?"

"Absolutely."

"No one would pick me over Blaine."

"Who would have thought enough people would have voted for Sebastian over Blaine? At least think about it. I know you would be a fair and kind leader. You would give other people a chance to shine as well. You're a lot of fun to watch and your joy in performing is evident. Don't let Blaine intimidate you or pull you into his fanboys group again."

"What happened between the two of you? It's something bad, isn't it? You came at him pretty strong when he was hassling Sebastian on the way to rehearsal last week."

"He's not a leader, he's an attention seeker. Wanting the limelight is not the same as being a leader."

"I understand. I'll think about what you said. If I quit the council, all three seats will be vacant."

"I know, but I still think you'd make a fantastic lead singer for the group. Just think about it, like you said." Kurt opened the door back up and they went back downstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

As the party was winding down, Kurt and Sebastian said goodbye to the Warblers that had come. By 3:00, it was just Finn, Puck, Sam, Nick, and Jeff left down in the family room.

Rachel found Kurt in the kitchen cleaning up and asked him to follow her out to the backyard.

"I just wanted to tell you that Blaine and I got accepted to work at the kids' theater camp we applied to. I know that you don't want him around, but he really needs friends."

"While I can accept that as a true statement, you don't have to be one of them, but you've chosen to be. Don't let him drown you, Rachel."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he has his own problems that are far too complicated for you to deal with as a 17 year old. You really need to keep in mind that he behaves like he is a lot younger than he is, but he's turning 19 in a couple of months. He's nearly a year and a half older than you, Rachel. He needs to get his own life together. Probably the best thing you could do for him would be to get him to see the counselor that's actually been helping you. That's all I'm going to say about it. He is not welcome in this house because he still won't take 'no' for an answer from me. He was trying to get Sebastian to break up with me just last week." Kurt just shook his head.

"I see."

"Where is this camp?"

"Marysville. Their local theater group is running a camp. It's for 8-12 year olds."

"Marysville is an hour from here. Is this an all-day camp?"

"Yes. It's from 8:00-5:00, Monday through Friday for 8 weeks. The pay is $400 a week. It's so much more than I can make here, especially since full-time jobs here are practically non-existent."

"Rachel, listen to me. You have two months to get things worked out with Finn or you're going to end up in New York alone. By working with Blaine at the camp and agreeing to carpool with him, you're going to end up spending somewhere around…"

He paused for a couple of minutes and calculated the time.

"… 60 or more hours a week with him. With Finn working weekends still that means you will be spending more time with Blaine that you will be with Finn this summer. You won't get home from the camp until 6:15, you and Finn won't get home until 7:15. Unless you're going to give up sleeping 8 hours a night, you won't even have three hours together each evening every day, even if you count your evening ritual time as time spent with him. Do the math."

He paused again, doing the calculations himself.

"Even if you spent every waking moment with Finn, bathing with him, eating with him, never leaving his side, the most time you'll have in a week with him will be like 35 hours."

"I didn't calculate anything like that. I just knew that I could make the money I have to make for the deposit on the apartment if I worked there."

"It's your life and your choice, but don't let Blaine pull you down. You've been taking steps in the right direction. Don't let him veer you off the path."

"The camp starts next Monday. Training is this week. I'll think about what you said and talk to my counselor about it tomorrow before I accept or decline the position."

"Also, if you're gone every day all day long, when will you and Finn go to counseling?"

She looked off into the distance, not knowing what to say.

Kurt went back inside, leaving Rachel on the porch to think.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt went back to collecting up the empty serving dishes and taking them to the kitchen to soak. He brought back the ones that still had food on them and packed the leftovers up in storage containers. He stacked the rest of the dishes and platters next to the sink.

Kurt felt familiar hands wrap around him and kisses on the back of his neck. He leaned back into Sebastian's touch and relaxed. Sebastian leaned forward and whispered in Kurt's ear.

"I love you."

Kurt turned enough to kiss Sebastian. "I love you too."

Sebastian let go and started drying the dishes and putting them away. Carole came in and caught them cleaning and shooed them away.

"Go do something less useful, you two. And I don't know if you saw, but you both have mail upstairs that came yesterday."

"We didn't notice, thanks," Kurt said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Before Kurt and Sebastian made it to the stairs, Burt intercepted them and rerouted them back to the living room.

"Why don't you take what's in your baskets upstairs with you?"

"Good idea," Sebastian said.

Kurt nodded and followed Sebastian into the living room.

They grabbed their baskets and carried them up the stairs with them to their room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They both sat down on the bed with their baskets. "Mom's idea to put baskets out for each of us was a really cool one. And the index cards were a good addition for anyone who wanted to leave a note, but didn't bring card. There's a really thick envelope in your basket," Kurt said looking over at Sebastian's basket.

"I saw that. Maybe I should open it first or maybe save it for last?"

"I don't know. I think I'm going to open my mail first." Kurt got back up and looked on the shelves to see where Carole had put it.

"I forgot about that."

"Oh, this one is for you." He handed Sebastian a fairly flat box about the size of a sheet of paper.

Sebastian took it from him and moved to the desk. "That's my father's return address." He grabbed the scissors and cut through the tape. "Might as well get the least likely to be something fun item out of the way." He opened it and slid it back on the desk.

"What is it?"

"You go through it, please?" Sebastian closed his eyes and tried to relax.

"Sure." Kurt picked the box up and took it back to the bed. He sat sideways and slid back a little to put the box in front of him. He emptied the contents carefully. All of the photos that Sebastian's mother had sent to Robert were in the box. There was also a small notebook. Kurt opened it. Inside was a list of firsts for Sebastian. Obviously his first au pair took her job fairly seriously. He also found a lock of hair in a small envelope in the notebook. There were baby photos in another envelope.

"Bas, it's a box of things we can use to make a small scrapbook for you. Your first au pair kept track of your 'firsts'. Your father obviously found the notebook in the flat. It looks like he's sent you all of the photos he had of you as well."

Sebastian rotated in the desk chair so that he could look at Kurt. "I don't know how to interpret this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, either he is being kind or this is his last step in ridding his life of anything that has anything to do with me."

"Oh. Who cares? He's stupid for not wanting to be part of your life, but I like that we have these things. So, let's just not think about his motivation and we'll make a scrapbook for you this week."

"Okay. Is there anything else in there?"

"A family tree – your mother's side."

"I've seen that before. I didn't know where she kept it and all of those people are dead or don't care, but I guess it's nice to have for genealogy."

Kurt put everything back in the box, got up, and put it back on Sebastian's shelf. "Shall we open the other stuff or do you want to do it later, like tomorrow or something."

"You open your mail and I'll open the fat envelope. I'll save the rest for later."

Kurt got up and grabbed the envelope and used the scissors to trim the end off. He unfolded the letter. "It's another small scholarship. It's $500 a year and it's renewable as well."

"That's cool. Anything helps."

"So, what's in the envelope?" Kurt handed him the scissors back.

He cut the end open and a huge smiled swept across his face. "It's official." He laid the envelope down carefully and wiped his eyes.

"Well, you're smiling and crying…"

"That's because I'm happy and overwhelmed." He handed the envelope to Kurt.

He pulled out the first thing his fingers came into contact with. He pulled out a French Passport.

"Open it."

"Oh, my God! When did you do this?"

"I started it ages ago. Well, Hiram helped. It's really hard to get it approved. He said he didn't know if it would be."

"There's a letter in here." Kurt pulled it out and handed it to Sebastian.

"It says that he had the documents on Thursday and informed the school and my diploma and everything at the school will be changed before it gets mailed out. So, everything is going to match. There's a list of things that I have to do still and with it is the official French document granting the name change and the official translation." Sebastian laid the paper down. "I just have to take this stuff and I can go get new everything here in the US. I know that will be a pain, but I don't have that many things now and once I get them changed, that will be it. Everything from now on will just be using the new documents. Hiram said he'd help with that too."

Kurt leaned over and wrapped his arms around Sebastian from the back and kissed him on the neck. "Well, I guess we won't have to think about how to hyphenate our last names."

Sebastian laughed and stood up and wrapped his arms around Kurt. "If this hadn't worked, I was going to take your last name then. I wouldn't have been able to change my French documents because that's not how things work in France, but I was not going to live my whole life being a Smythe."

Kurt turned a little, picked the passport back up, held it where they could both see it, and looked at it again. "Sebastian Esmond Hummel."

"I like it."

"I would hope so," Kurt said. He laid it back on the desk. "People will be calling you that for the rest of your life. Now, everyone is going to think we're already married since we have the same last name." Kurt pulled him close and nuzzled into Sebastian's neck.

"That's fine with me. Better than them thinking I'm your brother," he teased. He pulled back a bit, and kissed Kurt.

Kurt pressed into the kiss, and moved his hands to run his fingers through he back of Sebastian's hair. When he pulled back to take a breath, he said, "I'm definitely NOT your brother." He nuzzled back into Sebastian's neck, placing gentle kisses there.

Sebastian held Kurt close. "I just can't believe it's done. I owe Hiram a huge thank you. He's the one that persisted all this time."

"If he's still here, we could go thank him. We do still have guests downstairs too."

"I almost forgot about them."

"I won't tell them," Kurt teased. He kissed him again and tried to step back.

Sebastian kept him close and held on to him.

"I love you Sebastian. You're not imagining things. We can hold hands the whole time we're down there if you want."

"Okay." He stepped back. "Let's put all of the documents in the safe first."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Before they made it to the door, Burt and Carole knocked. Kurt opened the door and let them.

"We wanted to come up and wish you happy birthday," Carole said.

"Come on in."

Sebastian pulled the desk chair out for Carole to sit down. Burt sat in the chair by the bookcase. Kurt and Sebastian sat on the end of the bed.

"We know there's been a lot of ruckus going on downstairs, so we thought we'd come up to talk to you for a little bit," Burt said.

Carole handed Kurt a card. He opened it and smiled. It was a sentimental card and it was sweet. Inside the card, there was another small envelope. He took it out and opened it. It was a pre-paid VISA card.

"We know you'll need things for your new place. We thought you'd enjoy picking them out for yourself," she said.

"Thank you. Maybe we can go shopping together. That's always fun."

"It is."

"You did good, kiddo. It's just hard to believe you're all grown up now."

"Hey, I'm not moving to the moon," Kurt teased. "We'll come visit and you can come visit us."

"There's one other thing in there," Burt said.

Kurt hadn't noticed a business card. He pulled it out and looked at it.

"Our housewarming gift is that my buddy Tom is going to go down to your place and rebuild those basement stairs for you. I don't want you and Sebastian having to carry laundry baskets up and down those shallow, open-backed stairs. I'm going to have him redo them with a landing so they're L shaped with a closet underneath. I noticed that there aren't a lot of closets. This way you can store your off-season jackets or whatever in the closet. I'll have him line it with some cedar strips to keep the bugs away."

"Thanks. That's perfect. We were talking about getting a wardrobe, which we still might do for the living room, but that will really help. Do you think if we paid him, he could build a Murphy bed frame for us too? Or at least precut all of the boards so we can paint and assemble it ourselves? We want to be able to have a place for people to sleep when they come, but we want to use the smaller bedroom as a study with two desks and a sewing table and some shelves. Putting a queen sized bed in there will take up too much of the floor space since the room isn't very big."

"I'm sure he can. Why don't you find what you like and send it to me and I'll get him to quote you a price for doing it. He can get wholesale prices on the wood and the hardware."

"Perfect. Those are the two things we really wanted to tackle. We want to take this bed. Is that even a possibility?"

"Sure. We already told you that we're probably going to rearrange the rooms. Puck has his bed in storage still. I paid for a second month because it's just been too hectic to make any decisions. You can take this bed with you."

"Thank you," Kurt said. "We both really love this bed."

"It's definitely the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in," Sebastian added.

Burt stood up. "Well, I know that you've got two of those Dalton boys staying tonight and Puck and Sam will be here, so have fun. Carole and Sarah are taking me to the airport and then coming back later this evening. They'll sleep in our bed like we said."

"Thanks for the gift card. We'll definitely need to buy kitchen stuff."

"You're welcome. Stand up. I'm going to hug you and then let you get back to whatever you were doing." Burt pulled Kurt into a bear hug. "Happy birthday, kiddo."

Kurt laughed. "Thanks, Dad."

Sebastian spoke up. "Before you go, Hiram may have already told you, but I wanted to tell you myself that my name change was approved."

"Oh, sweetie, that's great news," Carole said. "Come here so I can hug you."

He stepped closer and let her hold him.

She spoke quietly, "We love you, sweetie. I'm glad he was able to get that all settled for you." She loosened her grip on him and he stepped back.

"No escaping a hug from me," Burt teased. He gave Sebastian a hug and a pat on the back.

Sebastian stepped back next to Kurt, who quickly wrapped his arm around Sebastian's waist.

"I knew he had been working on it, but he didn't tell me he had been successful," Burt said. "I guess he figured he'd leave it up to you to be the one to tell people."

"We're glad you're part of our family, Sebastian," Carole said.

Sebastian wiped the escaping tears from his eyes and nodded. "Me too."

Kurt pulled him into a hug and held him. Burt and Carole left the room quietly, closing the door behind them.

Kurt held Sebastian for a few minutes before they went downstairs to find Hiram. Sebastian thanked him. The three of them stepped into Burt's office for some privacy. Hiram finally explained why he didn't want Sebastian to repay him for his time and why he had done it. They both remembered his story from when they were at Kohl's. He continued from that.

"When LeRoy asked me to move in with him, that was the same as asking me to marry him in a time period when no gay men ever really though we'd ever be able to actually get married legally. We had a ceremony with our closest friends and his family. After the ceremony, I changed my last name to his. I didn't want anything to do with my family anyway – they had disowned me. LeRoy and I couldn't get married, but changing my name – it gave me a new family. As a child, I would have never guessed that a black Christian family would have accepted a Jewish man as a son-in-law, but they were amazing. I miss his mom so much. When he brought me home to meet his family after we had been dating a while, I was so nervous. His mom was a hoot. LeRoy introduced me and obviously I looked as terrified as I felt. She said, 'The Good Lord gone and made my son the way he is. Who am I to argue with that? He says he loves you. That's good enough for me.' She pulled me into a hug and that was that. Not a single member of her family ever treated me badly." He wiped a few tears away. "Anyway, it was super easy for me to change my last name back then, but I knew you'd never succeed at getting it done without a lot of help. I did it for you because I wanted to. I'm glad you found a family like I did."

Sebastian just nodded because he was too choked up to say anything.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later that afternoon, Nick, Puck, Sam, and Kurt were playing Mario Kart. Jeff and Sebastian were sitting on the bed laughing at the four of them. The race was close, but Kurt used some special move and pulled ahead and beat the three of them by quite a bit. He started dancing around the room.

"Take that, Puck! I told you I could beat you at Mario Kart."

"Fine, fine. You won. ONCE. That does not make you the Mario Kart champion. It could have been a total fluke," Puck countered.

"Uh huh. Right."

"Does he always gloat like this when he wins?"

"I think he saved it just for you, Puck," Sebastian said, still laughing.

"Great."

"So, are we ready to go out?" Kurt asked and looked around. He didn't get any negative responses. "Alright, then. Let's go."

Everyone got up and headed downstairs. Kurt stayed back and ejected the game, put it away, and turned the Wii off. He grabbed his phone and stepped out the door to find Sebastian and Sam waiting for him in the hallway.

"Everyone already headed to the Navigator, but I wanted to tell Sam since I finally managed to get him alone."

Sebastian told him about changing his last name on the way down to the Navigator.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A few hours later, Nick, Jeff and the residents of the Hummel household returned to the house after their evening of pizza and bowling.

"Well, now we all know whose team to try to join if we ever go bowling again," Nick said.

"Team Kurt!" Sam said, pumping his fist in the air.

"Go on downstairs and I'll make popcorn and bring it down. You guys can pick a movie," Kurt said.

"I'll grab the drinks," Puck said, giving Sebastian a look and tilting his head a bit indicating that he wanted to be alone with Kurt.

Sebastian and the others headed downstairs.

Puck opened the fridge and pulled out the box of sodas they had put in the fridge before they left. He took a deep breath and started to talk. "We were wrong. I was wrong."

Kurt pressed the start button on the microwave and turned to look at Puck.

"Wrong about what?"

"You. You're definitely a bitch when crossed, but you're not prissy and you're nothing like any girls I know, except maybe Lauren."

Kurt laughed. "Thank you."

"Are you just naturally good at bowling?"

"I don't know. Maybe? It was something my dad and his buddies liked to do and one of them owns that bowling alley. It was something he could do without needing a babysitter. I went with him and just played on an empty lane. I watched the guys that were good at it and pretty much just tried to imitate them."

"I think maybe you're just a natural athlete, but you live in a town of jackass jocks. If you had stayed on the football team, we could have won more games than we did."

"Maybe."

Kurt pulled the first bag out of the microwave and put another bag in.

He continued, "I disliked being made fun of too much to spend a lot of time finding out whether I actually had any skill at most sports. The bullying didn't just start in high school. That's just when the two of us met. Some of the puckheads and some of the guys on the football team, like Azimio and Karofsky, went to the middle school I went to. The teachers would scold the bullies if they saw them do something, but never actually sent them to the principal or gave them detention or anything. In high school it just got worse. The bullies all had their growth spurt before me and it only took a week for them to realize that Figgins was useless."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know I already apologized, but maybe we can work on being friends."

"You live here, you dork. Of course we can be friends. Just be Noah, not Puck. I know you only let Sarah call you that, but in time, Noah and I could be good friends. Puck, not so much."

Puck nodded. "I get that. If I hadn't been such a terrified jackass looking for acceptance, I wouldn't have done those things. I didn't become a jackass until middle school. That's when I switched from being called Noah to being called Puck. Noah was this kid whose dad broke his heart and whose ma fell apart. Puck was a badass who couldn't be touched. You and Sebastian can call me Noah."

Kurt smiled. "Thanks." Kurt grabbed the second bag of popcorn and dumped them both into a big bowl. "You can send someone up to collect the popcorn when you take the drinks down."

By the time Sam came up, Kurt had popped more popcorn and had two large bowls of popcorn ready to go downstairs. He handed them to Sam.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah. I'll be right down. Go ahead and start the movie."

Kurt stood in the kitchen just staring off into space. Sebastian stepped into his line of sight and reached out and put his hands on Kurt's waist.

"Hey. I'm sorry. I'm coming."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just not used to being included. Let's go."

Sebastian took his hand and led him down the stairs to the oversized chair and pulled him into his lap. Kurt squished to the side and Sebastian wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulders.

"Why haven't you started a movie?"

"Duh, it's your birthday," Sam said. "You're supposed to pick the movie,"

"One of the _Transformer_ movies."

Noah got up and put one of them in and turned the lights off.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian woke up first and went down to start breakfast for everyone. Once it was ready, Kurt went upstairs to get everyone up.

Sebastian was moving the food to the dining table when they all came down.

"You know we have to get Sarah up," Kurt said. "She told me I should always wake her up if there's French toast."

"I'll get her," Sebastian said. He went down the hall and knocked really quietly on Burt and Carole's door.

Sarah opened it.

"Come eat. There's French toast."

She came out the door, closed it quietly, and went straight to the kitchen. She saw everyone in the dining room and sat next to Kurt. "I'm Sarah. Who are you?"

"I'm Nick."

"I'm Jeff."

"You're gay like Bas and Kurt, aren't you?"

Jeff nodded.

"Okay. Can someone pass the French toast this way?"

Kurt held the platter and put a piece on her plate. "Do you want more?"

"Yes, please. One more."

"There's biscuits and gravy."

"No thank you. I like French toast the best. And sausage. Can I have sausages too, please?"

Nick passed the sausages around.

Noah moved and sat next to Sarah. "Hey, Squirt. I need to tell you something, okay?"

"What?"

"You can't just ask people if they're gay."

"Why not?"

"Because some people are really mean to gay people and so a lot of times people who are gay don't tell anyone."

"Oh. That's a really dumb reason to be mean to someone."

Nick and Jeff laughed. Sam, Sebastian, and Kurt just smiled knowing that she was going to say something similar.

"It is, Squirt. But remember when we've talking about how some people think that being Jewish is bad."

"Yeah. That's dumb too. And those people did terrible things to Jewish people."

"Some people do terrible things to gay people too," Noah said.

"Those people suck," Sarah said.

"Sarah, you know that's not a nice word," Noah scolded.

"Why should I use a nice word to describe terrible people?" she asked as she stuffed a sausage in her mouth.

Nick and Jeff were struggling to keep from laughing again.

"You have a point, Squirt. But still. Let's try not to use that word."

"Fine. Some people are awful."

"You're right. They are. But it's better for you not to ask people if they're gay. Just let them tell you. And if they tell you, you should always ask if it's a secret or if everyone knows."

"Okay." She looked at Nick and Jeff. "Sorry I asked you something I shouldn't."

"That's okay, Sarah. I'm gay and everyone knows," Jeff said.

"And I'm bi, which means I like girls and guys. And it's not a secret. Jeff is my boyfriend," Nick said.

"Okay. I already knew that last part."

Nick laughed. Noah kissed her on the top of the head and went back to his seat.

"Shouldn't we tell Mom there's breakfast?"

"I'll go tell her," Kurt said. A few minutes later, Carole came in and sat next to Sarah and made a plate of food and started to eat.

"Can you two cook like Noah and Sam and Bas and Kurt?"

"Well, we can cook, but not as good as Kurt," Nick answered. "I'm not sure about Sebastian's or Sam's or Noah's cooking skills."

"Oh. Well, Kurt is the best cook, and then Bas. Sam and Noah are regular cooks."

Jeff was struggling to keep a straight face. "Well, then I think Nick and I are probably regular cooks like Noah and Sam."

"Okay. I decided that boys who can't cook are lame. Noah's other friends are all lame. Sorry, Mom, but Finn is lame since he can't make anything except grilled cheese sandwiches. I could make grilled cheese sandwiches when I was 7."

She laughed. "I know, sweetheart. Burt can't cook either."

"Hmm. But he can fix whole cars. So, maybe that counts. I'll have to think about it. I still want a boyfriend that will cook with me and who likes to eat."

"Pick one who does his schoolwork too, okay?" Noah suggested.

"Okay." She ate the rest of the food on her plate. "Can I have some milk?"

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll get it."

"It's fine. I'll get it. You can eat," Kurt got up and got Sarah a glass of milk.

She drank it and asked to be excused and put her plate and cup in the dishwasher and went upstairs. She came back a few minutes later dressed in one of her summer dresses with a pair of the leggings that Kurt had shorted to above the knees.

Carole got up and headed to her room to get ready for the day as well.

"Kurt, can you braid my hair so it doesn't get in the way today? It's Family Day at my new camp. The moms and dads get to come and it's going to be so cool." She handed him a hair band and sat facing away from him.

"Regular braid or French braid?"

"French braid, please."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Two hours later, Kurt, Sebastian, Nick, and Jeff were back upstairs, dressed and ready for the day in Kurt and Sebastian's room sitting on the bed talking playing UNO.

"So, when is one of you going to tell us about that?" Jeff pointed to the picture of Sebastian kneeling in front of Kurt at the Eiffel Tower.

"When were you two going to tell us about the rings you're both wearing?" Kurt sassed back with a grin on his face.

"You first," Jeff countered.

The game play stopped.

"Sebastian proposed to me when we were in Paris."

"Nick proposed to me in the gardens after graduation Saturday night."

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order for all of us," Kurt laughed. "Had you talked about it before or were you completely surprised?"

"We had talked about it a lot. We had decided a while back that we'd wait until after we graduated. Nick just took it very literally and proposed right after we graduated."

"Why wait when I'm sure?" Nick teased. He kissed Jeff on the cheek.

"Did you set a date?"

"Probably not for two years, at least. We want to live on campus for the first two years. It's what we're used to. We're okay cooks, but we've never had to do meal planning or grocery shopping. We want to focus on doing well in our classes. We'll sublet an apartment next summer and see how that goes. We know we can live together. We've been doing that for four years. It's the other domestic stuff that we need to learn to do together before we decide to move off campus and take on those extra duties during the school year."

"That makes sense."

"What about you two?" Jeff asked.

"We didn't set a date," Sebastian answered. "We'd like to get married here in Ohio or in France, but if it's still not legal either of those places by the time we want to have the ceremony, we'll go somewhere else."

Nick got up and started looking at all of the photos on their shelves. Jeff followed him.

"Sarah is adorable," Jeff laughed.

"She is. She's a little Sherlock," Nick said.

"That's true. She must have seen the two of you at some point yesterday. It didn't take her long to figure out that we were dating either. She's very perceptive."

"I'm afraid that you and Kurt are setting the bar pretty high for her future boyfriend."

Kurt laughed. "Good. That will make our parents' lives easier if she can scare them off herself." He imitated Sarah, "Oh, you can't cook? Next!"

They all laughed.

"The mountains are really gorgeous. We need to go," Nick said.

"DC looks cool too," Jeff said.

"That's something we could work on. We could drive to DC and trade off doing the driving. We could stay in my dad's apartment. We just have to work it out to go when he's not there."

"That sounds like fun," Jeff said. "Maybe we can work it out."

Nick said, "Well, we know you have a whole day's worth of work to do still, so we're going to head out so you can get started on that and we have a 2½-hour drive to make before our own family graduation cookout and mini engagement party this afternoon. It's just our immediate families, but our dads are grilling 'celebration' steaks, which means they'll be huge. Mmm."

"Sounds like fun," Kurt said.

"Thanks for inviting us. We'll come stay with you in Cincinnati some time soon," Jeff said.

Kurt stood up and Sebastian followed.

"Wait, before you leave, I want to tell you both something. I know you know about what happened to my mother and a little about my father, but it's completely over with him. I changed my last name. I just wanted you two to know."

"What did you change it to?"

"Hummel."

"Wow," Jeff said.

"Burt and Carole took me in. This is my family now."

"I'm glad for you," Nick said. "I know you didn't want anything to do with Mr. Smythe. Now, you don't even have to share a last name. No more potential association."

"Exactly. There's nothing left tying us together."

"I'm glad you're free since that's what you wanted," Jeff said.

"Thanks," Sebastian said.

Nick grabbed their bag out of Sam's room. Kurt and Sebastian walked them out to their car.

"We'll arrange a trip to the club in Columbus soon. We need to figure out our work schedules," Kurt said.

"Just let us know," Nick said.

Jeff rolled down the window, "See ya!" He waved as they drove off.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they got back from the shop that evening and finished up with dinner and the dishes, they headed upstairs. Within a couple of minutes, there was a knock at their door.

Kurt got up off the bed and opened the door. Sam came in and sat down in the chair near the bookcase.

"What's up?"

"I didn't give you your birthday present yet." He handed Kurt a small wrapped object.

Kurt unwrapped it and looked confused.

"It's my flash drive. The gift is on the flash drive. It's a digital art piece that I made for you to have an album cover for your own stuff in you iTunes library and to use any time you make CDs of yourself to give to people or whatever you want to use it for."

"Thank you." Kurt got up and pulled Sam up and hugged him. He got his laptop out and turned it on.

"I need to ask you a question."

"Okay."

"I'm only going to be able to work part time at the shop, right?"

"I thought that's what you wanted."

"I though so too. But I thought about it and I really need to not work during the school year next year. I was looking through the university requirements again. It's going to be the hardest year for me because I have to take the required courses like English and math and stuff. After the first year of required classes and the basic art classes, my options open up and I'll be taking almost all classes in the different arts. I really will need to put all of my effort into doing well next year so I don't lose the scholarship I got."

"I can understand that. So, you need more hours?"

"I do. My dad told me about a place that's hiring full time for the summer. It's outdoor, physical labor, and it's 12 hours a day, but it pays $400 a week, cash. I could make $4000 in 10 weeks. That's three times what I'd make working part time here."

"I see."

"I'm going to look around here for a couple of days and see if I can find any place that I can get on and make the same amount of money. I'm torn between what I want and what I need. If I take that job, I won't have to take out a loan for this school year."

Kurt just nodded. "I understand. I'll miss you, if you go."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, me too."

Kurt put the flash drive in and downloaded the file. He double-clicked to open it. "Oh, wow. That's really cool. I like that font and the design is really cool. Thank you." He saved the file, ejected the flash drive, and handed it back to Sam.

"You're welcome. I have one more thing. It's an engagement present. I'll be right back. Both of you sit on the bed and close your eyes. I didn't wrap it." He was back in less than a minute. He propped a large canvas painting of the photo of the two of them holding hands looking toward the Eiffel Tower on the floor leaned against the cabinet doors, and then sat next to Kurt. "Open your eyes."

"Oh, my God. It's amazing." Kurt practically tackled him with the force of his hug.

"That is really beautiful. Thank you," Sebastian said. He hugged Sam as well.

"I know just where I want to put it," Kurt said. "Thank you. I love it."

"You're welcome. And congratulations! I'm going to go out tomorrow morning and see what I find job-wise."

He got up and shut the door behind him when he left the room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt locked the door and got back in the bed with Sebastian and flopped back against the bolster.

"You love him."

"You already knew that. He's like the brother I always wanted. Things have been so hectic, I kept thinking, 'Oh, I'll have more time to spend with him this summer.' And now, he's probably going back to Kentucky." He harrumphed. "I know I'm just being a baby about it. We don't have enough hours at the shop for me to give him full-time hours since Finn wanted back on the schedule. I could give him close to full-time without Finn."

"That's makes it harder for you because I know you'd rather have Sam there than Finn."

"Exactly. And I thought with us being out of school, I could help both of you study for the ASE certifications, and then by the fall, you could both make more money."

"I guess we'll just have to wait a few days to see. The painting is perfect." He leaned over and kissed Kurt. "How about we look at the cards in our baskets?"

"Sure."

Sebastian got up and grabbed them and handed Kurt's to him. He sat back down on the bed. They each started opening cards.

"I have one unsigned one with a lot of cash in it," Sebastian said. He counted. "There's $500 in here. Who would give me that much money?"

"The Warblers? Other than adult with a job, we don't know anyone else with that kind of money."

"I guess, but why? I mean it's really nice, but makes me feel really weird not knowing who it's from."

Kurt kept opening his cards. "I have one too." He counted the cash. "Same amount of money. And I have no idea why they would give me that much money. Maybe it was my dad. I don't think so though because he's paying to have the stairway to the basement rebuilt."

"Weird. I have separate cards from the Warblers that came."

Kurt looked through his cards again. "Actually, I do too. I don't know. Let's just use it to buy furniture."

"Okay."

"I'll be right back." He gave Sebastian a quick kiss and went downstairs and came back up. He handed Sebastian a quart ziplock bag. Kurt took his cards out of the envelopes and put them in the ziplock bag and put them on their dresser. Sebastian followed his example and handed the bag to Kurt to put on the dresser with his.

"Let's put the cash in our little safe for now."

Sebastian handed him his cash and Kurt put it with his. He pulled the safe out, put the cash in, and put the safe back away.

"So, it's over. Working all day today and not running to the school for anything makes it feel more real. I haven't worked a full day like that since last summer. We're going in early in the morning and getting off early tomorrow though. 7:00-3:30."

"And you have Finn coming in from 4:00-7:00?"

"Yeah. That's what he asked for."

"I saw Rachel pull you aside yesterday."

"Yeah. She's planning to take the day camp counselor position with Blaine at the Marysville Youth Drama Camp."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I think if she does, it will be the end of her and Finn. At least for now."

"Where's Marysville?"

"About 20 minutes south of Bellefontaine."

"I knew it sounded familiar like I've driven through it a million times, but I couldn't place where. That's a long drive to make twice a day."

"Rachel doesn't drive. She's going to carpool with Blaine."

"I see."

"I already gave her my opinion. It's her life. But the song she sang in our farewell Glee meeting gave me the impression that she's going to go to New York, with or without him. I think he'll be moving back home."

"Let's shower and get in bed. I just want to hold you."

"Sounds perfect."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was lying on Kurt as his body pillow tracing patterns on Kurt's shoulder.

"We could work four days a week, well three and a half and spend the other three and a half in Cincinnati," Sebastian suggested.

"That's an idea. And it solves the missing Sam dilemma too."

"I know because he could come visit us every Saturday or Sunday or something."

"If we go there every weekend, we'll be gone when Dad's home, though."

"There is that."

"But it's an interesting starting point. But we're going to work very early tomorrow. Let's sleep now and scheme tomorrow."

"You're right, we can brainstorm tomorrow. I love you." He kissed the top of Sebastian's head.

"I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They decided to give Sebastian's idea a shot and worked 12 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and 8 hours on Thursday. While they were at work on Thursday, Sam and Noah moved the furniture from the storage unit to the Hummel's.

When they got home, Kurt and Sebastian wrapped their bed in plastic and loaded it on to the U-Haul, along with the dresser, the vanity, and the oversized chair that had been in Kurt's room before he moved Burt's old desk into his room.

They had spent every evening packing up all of their belongings. They loaded all of the boxes in the U-Haul as well. Kurt put the hanging clothing in the Navigator. They left the winter clothing and coats behind to take later after the new closet was ready to use.

While they were loading their stuff into the U-Haul, they loaded the car with Sam's stuff. He had given up on finding anything as lucrative in Lima and was heading to Kentucky for the summer.

Once they had finished Sam's stuff, the last thing they had to load was the futon from the storage room. Kurt had completely forgotten about the fact their futon mattress and the disassembled frame from their old house had been stored at the back of the storage room until they had been talking about how expensive couches were. Burt reminded him that they had put a dust mite protector over it before they put the storage shelves in front of it to keep it stored neatly.

They had to unload the storage shelves and move them out of the way to get the mattress out. Kurt and Sebastian worked on putting everything back the way it was while Noah and Sam loaded it onto the truck. By the time they came back down after loading the mattress and disassembled frame pieces, the other two had gotten the room back in order.

Sarah was moving into Sam's room. Puck would stay put. And Finn would move into Kurt and Sebastian's room, if he moved back home.

The four of them headed back upstairs and moved the bed from Sam's room into Puck's room and moved Finn's bed to Kurt and Sebastian's old room. Kurt had ordered a daybed with a trundle and he and Sebastian assembled it. Kurt put the bedskirt on, and then they put Sarah's twin mattress on top and Puck's twin mattress on the trundle and slid it underneath for when Sarah eventually had sleepovers with her friends.

Kurt moved all of her clothes from the dresser and closet into her new room while the others continued to move furniture. The walls were already painted a pale green, which looked good with her pink floral comforter that she had picked out not long after they had moved in. Kurt remade Sarah's bed.

He grabbed her stuff off the shelves and stacked the items on the floor in front of the shelves in her new room to give her the chance to put everything where she wanted it when she got back from camp.

Meanwhile, Noah and Sam moved her desk into the room and carried her dresser up from the garage. They swapped the dressers and the desks in the other two rooms. Noah put his TV and xBox on the TV stand from their old house in his room.

They reloaded the old couch from Noah's house onto the U-Haul to donate it on the way out of town. Noah offered Kurt and Sebastian the small wood side tables, which they accepted since they had no bedside tables.

They took the legs off the kitchenette table and stored it behind the stacked chairs. Noah decided to keep it. They stacked the boxes holding Mrs. Puckerman's clothing and their other household items on the chairs to get them out of the way until their fate was decided.

Carole pulled up with Sarah at the appointed time. She was ushered up to her new room and was thrilled. She hugged everyone and got busy putting everything on the shelves.

Kurt, Sebastian, and Sam headed off to Cincinnati. They stopped and dropped the couch off on the way out of town.

Kurt and Sebastian showed Sam around the house before they got started with unloading everything. Once they had everything out of the U-Haul and the Navigator, Sam headed on to Kentucky. Kurt and Sebastian dropped off the U-Haul and headed to Ikea to buy shelving and barstools, and to look around a bit before deciding on some bathroom and kitchen items.

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"I know it's kind of pricey compared to what we had been thinking, but I did want to put some kind of table downstairs to be able to fold the laundry on and be able to do some schoolwork on rather than run up and down two flights of stairs. And if we got this one, we could carry the table up if we wanted to be able to have people over and sit at a table instead of at the counter."

"I do like it and it's solid wood. And since we got the futon couch from your old house, we won't have the expense of buying one."

"So, yes?"

"Tentatively, yes. Let's see how much everything else is. We have a limited up-front budget, which is a lot more than we thought we'd have, but let's make sure we get everything we have to have before we decide on the more expensive bar chairs."

They looked around and compared prices online while they walked through the store, picking up the items that were less expensive and saving the list for where to get the rest of the stuff.

"Let's eat dinner here. The prices looked better than fast food and we won't have to stop another place."

"Sure."

They ate and looked through their lists again.

"I definitely think we should go get that Cuisinart cookware set at Kohl's. Carole gave me a 30% off coupon that's good through tomorrow and it's already on sale for $159. I know it's pricey, but we both like to cook and if we take care of them, they'll last us forever."

"I agree. With that coupon, it makes the set 65% off. And you're right. We should invest in a good solid set. And that one has everything we need – a stockpot, four pots, and two skillets."

"I like the idea of that shelving that we can add to as we get more money. And the fact that it disassembles. We can move it easily later, unlike regular bookcases."

"That set is pretty cool. You can buy drawers and cabinets and stuff for it. So, we could get the bare bones now, a starter section just to put our stuff on, and as we have more money we can buy more pieces to it and customize it to fit what we need."

They put their dishes away and went back to their cart. They went through the ready-to-assemble area and picked up the items they had chosen, waited in line, loaded them in the Navigator, and headed to Lowe's to get the paint and stain they needed.

When they got back to the house, they unwrapped the bed and made it first so they'd be able to go to bed whenever they were ready to.

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"I like it. What do you think?"

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and propped his chin on Kurt's shoulder. "I think it's perfect. We can take a nice shower before we go to bed tonight. I like the colors – blue and gray to match our towels. It looks good."

Kurt rotated in Sebastian's arms and wrapped his arms around Sebastian. He leaned up and kissed him. "You're just going to say that you like everything, aren't you?"

"If you're part of it, then yes. I don't really have a preference for one color over another. I just want it to be functional. Looking nice too is just a bonus. And you have great taste."

"Thank you." Kurt kissed him again. "I love you."

Sebastian pulled him closer. "I love you too."

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After they had showered, they headed into their bedroom and got in bed. They lay down facing each other.

"Our first night in our new house," Kurt said. He ran his thumb down Sebastian's cheek.

"It's amazing. You like it here, right?" Sebastian wrapped his arm around Kurt and pulled him closer.

"I do. It will take some time to get used to the bathroom opening into the hall. I think you need to add a robe to your shopping list."

"We can grab one at Goodwill tomorrow. I'm not used to it anymore either since my dorm room had the bathroom attached as well."

Kurt took a deep breath and sighed contentedly. He closed the small distance between them and kissed Sebastian gently. They lay and kissed, comforting happy kisses for a while.

"_I love you, mon étoile, so very much. I'm so happy to be here with you."_ He kissed Kurt one more time before turning over to be the little spoon.

Kurt scooted up behind him and wrapped his arm around him. _"I love you too, mon joyau."_

Within a few minutes, they were both asleep.

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After an extended snuggle and make-out session, they got out of bed and got dressed. They ate packages of trail mix they had left behind after their trip to Gatlinburg and headed out to Kohl's to buy the cookware set they had chosen. With that task complete, they headed to Goodwill.

"Which ones do you like? The ones with the gold pattern or the brown pattern?" Kurt asked after they had sorted through the plates and found the only two patterns that had all of the pieces they were looking for.

"I like the ones with the brown pattern, mostly because of the way the cups stack. I like that opening in the handles because then they stack like bowls. We'll end up using them like little bowls since we put our coffee in those thermos mugs so it stays hot longer anyway."

"Alright, then. Brown pattern it is." They loaded all of the pieces into their cart. "Next up, glasses."

They turned and looked on the other side of the aisle and didn't find much that matched.

"How about we just buy a set when we get the silverware that we forgot last night?"

"That works for me. We wanted to go get some food anyway. We'll stop when we're out that direction. The plates were the main goal here because these will be $30 instead of $150 for new ones. Glasses aren't that expensive."

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They unloaded all of their purchases and unwrapped all of the dishes and saved the newspaper for their painting projects. They loaded the dishes into the dishwasher.

They wrapped the couch in the plastic they had used on the bed to prevent it from getting any dust on it while they worked on the cabinet. Kurt took the doors off, and took the drawers out and took them outside with the shelving pieces and sanded them first so Sebastian could work on painting them while he sanded and painted the cabinet inside.

After cleaning up the mess from sanding, Kurt painted the cabinet. They spent the rest of day painting, alternating with deep cleaning the kitchen and cabinets.

Before it got dark they brought all of the shelving and cabinet pieces back inside to finish drying.

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Saturday, they assembled the bar chairs and the table. They put three of the chairs up to the counter and carefully carried the table and the other chair down to the basement and put it under the window near the washer and dryer.

"I think we need to get some plumbing piping and mounts and make a bar to hang from the joists so we can hang our clothes to dry down here," Kurt said.

"That's a good idea. We need to start a list. We'll need to get some type of rod to hang in the closet the carpenter is going to build next weekend. And we were talking about putting some shelves in the section under the lower half of the stairs for storage. We just need to figure out what we actually want after the project is done."

They headed back up to the main floor and made lunch. After they ate, they took the side tables that Noah had given them out back and sanded them down. They wiped them down and stained them.

"We'll paint the Murphy bed pieces and put that together next weekend if we can."

"Shower? I just want to get this dust off before we start another project in the house."

After the quick shower, they carried the shelving pieces upstairs and assembled them in their study. They talked while they put the shelving together. Once they finished, they opened the boxes and they pulled out what they needed most and arranged it on the shelves. They condensed what was left in the boxes and put them in the closet. A couple of hours later, they had finished.

Kurt stepped back. Sebastian moved to stand behind him. Kurt leaned back into him and wrapped his arms up behind his head and around Sebastian's neck. Sebastian laughed and wrapped his hands around Kurt's torso.

"Very functional," Sebastian said.

"It is. It really starting to look like someone lives here."

"It will take time, but we'll get what we need."

"I already have what I need." Kurt unclasped his hands and turned around and kissed Sebastian. "I have you."

"I thought I was the sappy one."

"We can trade off." Kurt gently put his hands on the sides of Sebastian's neck and cheeks and gave him a quick kiss.

"When we get the money for more sections, we can get the stuff out of the boxes in the closet."

"Let's get those boxes of clothes in our room put away."

After they emptied the boxes in the bedroom, they ate a quick dinner of sandwiches and fruit. They cleaned up everything outside and the mess downstairs, showered again, and got in bed. They spent the rest of the evening talking and kissing and cuddling until they fell asleep.

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Sunday morning, they put the dishes in the kitchen cabinets, washed the pots, and pans, and put the doors back on and the drawers back in the built-in cabinet.

Sebastian sat down on one of the bar stools. "So, what do you think now that it's white and matches the kitchen cabinets?"

"Much, much better. I would have been okay with it if it had been painted black, but midnight blue – just no."

Sebastian laughed. "I'm glad you're pleased."

"Am I being ridiculous?"

"No. It's fine. We painted one thing. You didn't demand that every room be repainted or that countertops were wrong or the door styles were all wrong or anything. Wanting all of the cabinets to be the same color seems a reasonable request. Plus, we used the same paint to paint the shelving and we'll use more of it to paint the Murphy bed cabinet. It didn't cost any extra. It just took some time. And now you like it. So, I'm good with it. You're not being ridiculous at all."

Kurt moved to where Sebastian was sitting and wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. "If I ever get out of hand, just say so, okay?"

"You are not nearly as high-maintenance as I had originally thought you were."

"I was so high-maintenance then because I was trying to control everything to keep my world from falling apart. And then it fell apart anyway, but when I picked up all of the pieces back put my life back together, you were there and Sam was back. And the pieces fit back together easier than they had before. And eventually I didn't feel like I was fighting myself. I wasn't trying to be someone I wasn't anymore. I know I'm not the average guy, but I'm not the over-the-top neurotic mess that I was at one point in time."

"I never met the 'over-the-top neurotic mess' version of yourself, as you call it. But I'm here for you. I'll keep helping you pick up the pieces whenever you need me to. You were there for me too, you know."

"Let's go get the second coat of stain on those tables so they can dry a little before we bring them inside."

After they came back in and cleaned up, they sat down and looked around the living room.

"For now, I think we'll empty those boxes into the cabinet in the dining room. It's not super convenient to go in there to get the DVD player and the movies or the Wii and the games, but it's better than leaving them sit in the boxes."

"I think we might want to get some speakers for down here. Or figure out a way to put the stereo down here."

"That's true. I'll need some way to play music down here to practice for my dance classes. I might want some mirrors at some point. We'll just have to see."

"Let's hang the posters up." They got back up.

When they were at Lowe's, they had picked up what they needed to hang the posters that had been in Sebastian's dorm room. They hung the horizontal one on the long wall in the dining room and the vertical one in the living room.

They had been working on the smaller collages, but hadn't yet finished them, but planned to hang them on the more narrow wall areas in the downstairs. They hung the painting Sam had given them in their bedroom. They put the smaller one from Christmas in the study.

"I still want to get a frame for the larger painting. I'm going to measure it."

They went downstairs and Kurt took a measuring tape back upstairs. When he came back down, Sebastian was sitting on the couch and patted the spot next to him.

"I'm not sure I like the couch in this position," Sebastian said.

"Oh?"

"I know we put the TV on the mantle because we don't have anything to sit it on, but it's really high up there."

"Where would we put the couch instead?"

"Perpendicular to where we're sitting – so it's facing the stairs. We can get a shelf like the ones upstairs, but with the short sidepieces and put the TV on there. We could actually build a unit that fits that whole wall eventually, each section being taller since it's angled."

"That's actually a good idea. That way we could put the DVD player and the movies and Wii and the games out, which would be a lot easier than getting them in and out of the cabinet and putting them on a bar chair while we're using them since they won't fit on the mantle."

"Let's move the couch and see how it looks."

They sat back down after they had repositioned it.

"This is better."

"Maybe one of those square ottomans too, so we can stretch out while we watch something."

"Good idea. And I think we'll need some rubber grips for the couch legs if we're not going to put it against the wall. Otherwise it will slide every time we sit down."

"We've got enough money left to do the shelving and get the desks from the money we got at graduation."

"And I have the gift card still from my birthday. We could use that to get the mattress. But we have to pay for the Murphy bed pieces before we buy anything else because Dad already contracted to have them cut."

"I think we can get all of it by the end of the summer. We can look the prices up later tonight. Let's go ahead and head back to Lima. We told Mom we'd be back before dinner."

"You're right." Kurt moved like he was getting up, but instead he turned and tackled Sebastian over onto the couch and lay down on top of him and started kissing him.

Sebastian was startled at first and laughed, but then wrapped his arms around Kurt and pulled him down onto his chest and kissed him back. When they broke apart, he said, "Well, that was a fun surprise."

"I love you. We have our own house." He lay his head down on Sebastian's shoulder.

"We do and it's amazing. I love you so much."

As much as they wanted to just lie there, they got back up after a few minutes. They brought the side tables in, checked the fridge and moved the leftovers to the freezer, grabbed their suitcase, and headed back to Lima.

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They decided to stick with their plan to work 3½ days each week and split their time between Lima and Cincinnati.

Around lunchtime on Monday, Finn came to the shop to talk to Kurt. They stepped out back.

"What's up?"

"Have you hired someone to work Sam's hours yet?"

"No. I was going to put a Now Hiring sign out this afternoon and if we didn't find someone in a few days, I was going to put an ad in the paper."

"Well, can I work his hours instead? I don't want to work on the weekends anymore. I'll never get to see Rachel that way. We can't work things out if I only see her a couple of hours each evening. She comes home really tired and she's going to sleep at like 9:00 at night. So, between dinner and her going off to the bathroom for her shower and all that, I see her for like an hour."

"Fine. You can start next week. I already rearranged this week's schedule to cover Sam's shifts. Come in every day at 1:00 and work until close at 7:00. That will give you 30 hour a week. Before you just quit your weekend job, why don't you see if you can take Puck in with you and get your boss to hire him as your replacement. He needs a weekends-only job and hasn't been able to find one. He's going to school during the week."

"Good idea. Thanks, Kurt."

"Don't forget about Puck."

"I won't."

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They headed back to Cincinnati on Thursday after lunch. They stopped by Jungle Jim's and Ikea on the way to the house and picked up the other furniture items they had decided on.

They spent Thursday painting and assembling the new pieces. Friday morning, they were able to assemble the shelving they had painted the day before. They moved the TV and hooked up the DVD player and Wii and moved their movies to the shelving. They also brought down half of their photo frames from the boxes in the closet and placed them on the shelving mixed in with Kurt's favorite books and a few knick-knacks.

They moved the side tables up to their bedroom and put the lamps that had been on their dresser on them, along with the things they had kept in the alcoves next to their bed.

Early Saturday morning, Tom, and two members of his crew came down and installed the new basement stairs and closet area.

Kurt and Sebastian worked on painting the Murphy bed frame pieces. They went out at lunch and brought back a stack of $5 pizzas to share with the guys.

After they finished, Kurt and Sebastian thanked them. As soon as they left they went down to look at it.

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"It looks really great. Let's measure the inside so we can get the piping cut to the right length. We can put some shelving in this section." Kurt pointed to the open area between the top portion of the stairs and the top of the closet. "Actually that might be a good place to store a cooler and some camping chairs. Hopefully we grab some stuff like that when they put them on sale in July before the Back-to-school stuff goes on sale."

"Good idea. We like picnicking a lot and we won't be able to just grab what we've been using."

Kurt walked around to the other side. "Under the short part over here, I want to put shelves. Let's measure and then we can have boards cut the right size at Lowe's."

Sebastian walked around to the interior of the L, which was covered with plyboard on both sections to enclose the closet area and create the back of the section they were going to use for shelving. "How about we paint something on this side?"

"Good idea. We'll spend time down here doing laundry. We might as well make it look nice. We can look for a stencil maybe? And you can decide what to paint. We can get a tiny bottle of paint at Michael's."

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They took their shopping list to Lowe's and got everything they needed and made a quick stop at Michael's.

Once they were back home, they got to work staining and painting and installing the shelving.

"This is fun. I'm not sure I'd want to do it every day all day long, but I like designing and making things look the way we want them to," Kurt said.

"It is fun. I've never gotten to do any of this kind of stuff. Boarding school didn't offer us classes in woodworking or home maintenance."

"Neither did public school. I take that back. There were shop classes my freshman sophomore year, but the teacher quit and his position wasn't filled. And he was a loony-toon anyway. I learned what I know from Dad."

"By next weekend, we should be able to put all of our winter stuff in here and get storage containers to put the air mattress and sheets in when we deflate it."

"We'll measure so we get the right size boxes."

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Sam arrived late that evening in his dad's truck. Kurt opened the door and let him in. He locked the door and led him upstairs to the study, where they already had the air mattress set up for him.

"Hey, Kurt, can we talk?"

"Sure. Just let me tell Sebastian."

Kurt stepped in their room and told Sebastian that Sam wanted to talk. Sebastian just nodded and went back to reading. Kurt pulled the door closed on his way out.


	32. Chapter 32

Sam sat down on the air mattress and lay back. "I'm ready to tell you what my problem was earlier this year."

Kurt lay down next to him. "Alright."

"I'm bi, like Nick. Except that I really like guys more than I like girls, as far as being able to get along with them. I really did like Quinn and Mercedes, but they really made me realize that I struggle with dating girls. Anyway, when I first came to McKinley and you asked me to be your duet partner, I was on cloud nine. You are absolutely gorgeous and I was thrilled that you wanted to sing with me. I actually thought you might like me, which was really exciting since I was new. I was really hoping that we would hit it off. Then you bailed on our duet."

"Yeah."

"Finn pressured me not to sing with you. I told him that I gave you my word and I wouldn't go back on it. But when you came to me and backed out, I didn't know enough about the school to properly understand the meaning behind your words, and I thought you backed out because you realized that I liked you and you didn't like me back, so backing out to 'protect me' seemed like a good way for you to let me know that without hurting my feelings. And then you didn't talk to me much outside of Glee. But later I realized that you really did back out to protect me because I saw what Karofsky was doing to you. You wanted me to be able to fit in and not get singled out, but by then you were leaving."

"Yeah."

"And I thought you were dating Blaine from basically right after you went to Dalton. And I had started dating Quinn when I thought you weren't interested. When you helped me after we lost our house, I realized how much I still really wanted us to be friends just like I had when I first came. And for a couple of months I finally got that, but then we moved."

"Right."

"We still texted and talked and stuff, but it was hard. I didn't want you to know what I was doing. I felt like… Well, I didn't know if you would even still want to be my friend if you knew what I was doing. Then Finn and Rachel came and brought me back and you and Blaine had broken up. Our friendship got right back on the track it had been on when I left. And when you found out, you didn't slut shame me or act like anything was different between us. And the mixed feelings I had came back as well. You're gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and kind. And amazing. And I was so happy to be your friend."

"So, when you said there was someone you liked when I asked about Mercedes, it was me?"

"Yes and no. I was certain that I loved you. And I do. But I had never been really close to anyone besides family. It was confusing. I would have said 'yes' in a heartbeat if you had asked me out, but then it just didn't seem right either. I was alone in some ways because most everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend. But I wasn't lonely because I had you. And during this time you befriended Sebastian and I liked him too. And I had a lot of fun hanging out, the three of us. He moved in and everything was still fine. But when the two of you started dating, I felt left out, but really for no good reason because neither one of you ever excluded me or made me feel unwelcome."

"So, we had a mutual crush on each other not quite two years ago."

"Wait, what?"

"I definitely had a crush on you. Big time. I thought you were gay. But after I backed out of our duet, you started dating Quinn. And then I completely doubted myself. Things were just such a wreck back then that I couldn't even think clearly."

"Alright. So, yes, on the mutual crush. But we both moved past that and became really close friends."

"You're my best friend, Sam. When you quit doing things with me, I was realIy sad. I finally had you back, and then you shut me out. I get that you were mixed up and I'm not mad at you. I wasn't mad at you then. I missed you. But then you started doing things with me again, but not with the two of us. You don't still have a crush on me do you?"

"No. I worked through things. I talked to Carole and my mom too. Both of them helped me see that I love you, more than anyone other than my immediate family. You chose to be my friend and you accepted me for who I am – my dorkiness, my dyslexia, my general craziness. But I'm not and wasn't in love with you. But my feelings were so strong that it was just hard to separate out because I've never been in love with someone. I liked Quinn a lot. Looking back on it after I talked to Carole and my mom, I wasn't in love with her."

"I get it. When I look back on my crush on Finn, that's how I feel about it now. I thought I loved him, but it was just a crush. There would have never been enough to keep us together. Like him and Quinn or you and Quinn."

"Right. But with you, over time, my feelings just got stronger. Seeing you in the hall or anything always made me smile and feel better. So, it was confusing. Being around you made me feel things I never felt with the girls I had dated. When you said you were thinking about staying in Ohio, I was so excited, but I didn't want to try to sway you because I want you to be happy, but I'm was so happy you got this house and we can still to be so close. After I talked to Carole and my mom, I realized that my jealousy came from the fact that I figured that once Sebastian realized that I was bi, that he wouldn't let me be around you anymore and I'd lose you. I wanted you too. Not as a boyfriend, but I wanted to keep you as my best friend and I thought I was going to lose that."

"Just so you know, I love you too. And it's not a secret. Sebastian knows. He's not concerned. What made you decide to tell me about all of this?"

"I wanted to be honest with you. You really are my best friend and I wanted you to know that I won't ever do that to you again. I won't close myself off like that. I was so afraid you'd go to New York and I'd be back in Kentucky alone again. And then when you decided to stay, it was me being afraid that I would lose you at the end of the year when I came out."

"I was afraid you were going to move far away."

"We're a pair aren't we?"

"You know you're welcome here anytime, okay? We had to jump through a lot of hoops to live off campus, but nothing prevents you from spending time off campus, just living off campus."

"You mentioned me going back to doing stuff with you, but not the two of you. I'm still working on how not to interfere with you and Sebastian. Like right now, I'm keeping you from him."

"He's probably asleep. Or so caught up in the book he's reading that he's not paying attention to anything else."

"You know what I mean."

"I do. I just like teasing you. If he walked in right now, he'd more than likely just push us closer together and flop down on my other side. He's not the kind of person who will walk in and assume that you and I were making out or that we're secretly seeing each other. He is really fine with us. I mean that. He knew about how I felt about you before we started dating. He wouldn't try to push you away from me. He wants all of us to be friends. I would bet that if I asked him, he would say that you're his best friend too, even though the two of you aren't as close as the two of us. He's never opened up to anyone before and he has with you. Jeff and Nick know just a fraction of what you know and they're his only other friends. Just give him more time."

"Okay. I believe you. I've just never seen anyone's boyfriend be okay with their significant other hanging around with a guy. I just can't envision even Mike being okay with Tina being best friends with any guy that likes girls. And the same thing in reverse. Can you imagine Rachel's response to seeing Finn lying in bed with Tina like we are now?"

Kurt snorted. "I think it's an issue of trust. Sebastian knows that I won't cheat on him. He knows that I wouldn't do that to him. Like you, I keep my word. That's one reason why we're such good friends. I learned that I could trust you. That trust isn't something I give easily. I don't foresee a situation where I would not want to be with Sebastian, but if that ever happened, I would tell him up front. I wouldn't cheat on him."

"As long as I'm not straining your relationship with him, then I'll feel a lot better. I just kept feeling like I would be some kind of dividing force, a negative in your relationship with him, but I wanted you for myself too. It was really hard to figure out because I was super jealous at first. That's what caused such confusion. I had to work through why I was so jealous, but I was also mad at myself for feeling that way because I wanted you to be happy. But I'm okay now. I've worked through a lot of things. So, it was all that combined with the stress of what I was going to do when I graduated."

"So, the awkward weirdness phase is over and we can go back to our awesome non-sexual threesome?"

"Yes."

"Do your parents know that you're bi? I'm assuming they do, at least your mom does since you said that you talked to her about me."

"They know. They've known for years. I think they've hoped that I would find a nice girl since I do like girls. But as I've gotten older, I'm not finding myself to very romantically attracted to them. For me to pick a girl, she'd have to have a really specific type of personality I think. I've tried dating 'hot' girls that are sexually attractive. I don't know. I just didn't 'click' with any of them."

"So, you didn't sleep with Santana?"

"No. She's a good kisser. But when I was dancing in Kentucky around the other hot guys, um, yeah. I would have been a lot more likely to act on how they made me feel than the way Santana or Quinn or Mercedes made me feel. Even though I really did like Mercedes last year."

"Okay. Attraction isn't always cut and dry. I've been learning about the difference between romantic attraction and sexual attraction. Until last fall, I didn't realize that there were people who never have romantic feelings ever. And there are people who never have any sexual attraction to anyone ever. And when you combine those two spectrums with being attracted to men or women or both or just someone's personality, there are a lot of combinations. I read a bunch of stuff online when I was dealing with the break up with Blaine. I'm pretty sure he's aromantic, meaning no romantic feelings at all. And I'm pretty sure I'm demisexual. I really don't feel intense sexual attraction towards anyone that I am not really emotionally close to and absolutely trust. I think that's why porn doesn't do anything for me. And why I felt so stand-offish about sex in general for such a long time." Kurt took his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you for telling me."

"So, we're all good?"

"We're good, Sam I Am."

Sam laughed. "I remember that. I'm such a dork."

"I like your dorkiness." Kurt sat up. "I'm glad you told me."

"You can tell Sebastian. High school is over. I'm not going to hide who I am anymore. Send me that website that you were talking about. I'd like to see if it can help me figure out what to call myself."

Kurt nodded. He pulled his phone out and texted the link to Sam. "Done."

"Thanks."

"'Night." Kurt stood up and headed back to his own room.

"'Night."

Kurt shut the door on his way out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt climbed into bed and cuddled into Sebastian's side, half lying on him.

"Sam told me that he is bi, but has realized that he prefers guys mostly. His parents know and Mom knows. I don't know if Dad knows or not. He's not hiding anymore now that high school is over. He told me I could tell you."

"Okay."

"Okay? I told him that you were fine with us being close. But I just want to make sure that's true. We both were operating under the belief that he was straight."

Sebastian wiggled and Kurt scooted back. Sebastian rolled onto his side. He put his hand on the side of Kurt's face. "Kurt, _mon étoile_, it's fine. So, no more weirdness, okay? It's fine that he's bi or gay or whatever. He's your best friend and honestly, he's my best friend too, even though he and I are not as close as the two of you are. You've known him longer. He's the only person besides you that I feel completely comfortable around. He's going to be here in town and I imagine here at the house a lot. He and I will get closer and by the time we get married, he'll have to draw a name out of a hat to determine whose best man he's going to be."

Kurt tried to tickle him.

He caught Kurt's hands and brought them up to his mouth and kissed them. "I love you. And you and Sam and I are fine."

"I love you too. Flip back over so I can sleep on you, okay?"

"Kisses first?"

Kurt answered with kisses.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sunday morning, the three of them assembled and installed the Murphy bed frame. Tom had found the studs for them while he was there, so they would be able to install it safely.

Once it was up and ready to use, the three of them got in Dwight's truck and headed to Jungle Jim's to give Sam the tour of their favorite place to shop. He was even more surprised by it than Kurt had been. He laughed the most about the restrooms.

After they finished looking around and they had bought a few things, they headed to Ikea. They ate lunch in the restaurant before they grabbed the mattress and took back to the house and put it in the frame.

Afterwards, Sam headed back to Kentucky and Kurt and Sebastian headed back to Lima.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next week when Kurt and Sebastian headed down on Thursday, they tackled the legal changes they needed to make. Sebastian had gotten his new US documents. They changed their driver's licenses to reflect their new address and Sebastian's name change. They got library cards. Kurt registered to vote in their new district and Sebastian registered to vote for the first time.

They moved all of their winter coats and accessories to the closet that they had brought with them from Lima. They went back to Goodwill and found some suitable bed linens for the guest bed. They bought some storage totes to store the air mattress and the bed linens for it and the Murphy bed and stored them on the shelves they had built under the short part of stairs.

Their diplomas had come and Kurt had framed their graduation photos, tassels and copies of their diplomas for their study. They had made their new collages from their trips and hung them in the living room.

They headed back to Lima on Saturday night so that they would be there for the surprise breakfast they were planning with Noah, Sarah, and Finn. They were planning to celebrate Parent's Day instead of Mother's Day and Father's Day separately. They reminded Finn to be at the house early the next morning before they went to sleep that night.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt, Sebastian, Noah, and Sarah cooked quietly to try to keep from waking Burt or Carole up. Finn let himself in at 9:00 and started to help get the food on the table. Once everything was set, the four teens sat down and Sarah went to wake Burt and Carole up.

They were surprised because they had expected everyone to come for lunch. They took their seats and they served themselves first as Kurt had instructed them to, and then started passing the food around.

"So, today we're celebrating Parent's Day," Sarah said. "We have presents for you after we finish eating."

"Breakfast is delicious," Carole said. "Did you help?"

"I did. Kurt taught me how to make pancakes and Sebastian showed me how to make the omelettes. I helped with the French toast too."

"Well, it's all really good," Burt said.

Once they had finished eating, Sarah got up. "I'm going to give you mine first. I didn't wrap them, so you'll have to close your eyes." She pulled them off the chair next to her and walked over to them. She put a car magazine in front of Burt and a Sudoku puzzle book in front of Carole. "Okay. Open your eyes."

"Mine's great. My favorite kind of magazine," Burt said.

"I saw you reading them at Goodwill when you went with us. And I've seen your sudoku puzzle books, but you're almost done with a couple of them."

"That was very observant of you. I do love these. Thank you, sweetheart."

"You're welcome."

Noah handed Burt a piece of paper. "That's for both of you."

Burt unfolded it so that Carole could see. It was a note saying that he would do all of the yard work all summer.

"Thank you, Noah," Carole said. "That's great."

"That will really help," Burt agreed.

Noah nodded.

Kurt passed his gifts down.

Carole opened hers. "Ooh. This is nice. I had a cheap version of one of these once, but this one is lovely and sturdy. Thank you."

Kurt smiled and nodded.

"Now, that's a nice pocket knife." He examined it carefully. "I know where you got this. That place is fantastic. Thanks, kiddo."

"You're welcome."

Finn passed two cards down. They opened them and read them. Carole's had a gift certificate to get her nails done and Burt's had a gift certificate to Lowe's.

"I know you wanted some kind of grill spatula, but when I went to Lowe's, there were a bunch and I didn't know which was the right kind, so I figured you can get the one you actually want. I'll go with you even." Finn smiled and looked hopeful.

"Thanks, Finn. I know just the one. I saw it when I walked past the grill section on the way out to get the flowers, but then I forgot to go grab it before we left."

Sebastian passed his down last. Burt opened his first. He laughed, popped it on his head and adjusted the brim. "It's great." It was a medium denim baseball cap that said "All Star Dad" embroidered in deep navy blue with five stars embroidered underneath.

Carole opened hers and she laughed. "It's perfect." It was a deep purple t-shirt. She held it up in front of her. It said, "My favorite people call me Mom".

"We have one last thing that's from all of us," Sarah said. She put two identical square boxes in front of them.

They opened them and found two large coffee mugs. One said "World's Best Mom" and the other said " World's Best Dad".

Kurt said, "We're going go clean up the kitchen so you two can go get ready. We rented a pontoon boat for a few hours. So, dress to get wet."

They left about an hour later with food for lunches packed in the cooler and everyone dressed to go swimming. They enjoyed their time out on the lake and the four boys taught Sarah how to swim. They finished the evening off by ordering pizza and watching movies in the family room.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

By the last week in June, they had done everything they were going to do for a while and the house was complete. They invited Trevor, Matt, Noah, Brittany, Santana, Nick, Jeff, and Sam to the club in Columbus. Nick, Jeff, and Sam would be returning to spend the night at their house in Cincinnati, while the other three planned to return to Lima.

Matt, Trevor, and Sam drove to their house and the five of them drove to the club together and met up with the other five. They waited in line for a while to get in since it was a Friday night. Once they were inside, Noah, Santana, and Brittany were really surprised at how nice it was. Kurt made the introductions.

"Ready to dance?" Kurt asked, offering Sebastian his hand.

They all headed out onto the dance floor. It didn't take long for Sebastian to be flush against Kurt's back with his hands on his hips moving with the music.

Sebastian spoke into Kurt's ear, "You are so sexy."

Kurt turned and stepped so that he was flush against Sebastian and continued to move his hips the same way while his hands were on Sebastian's back, holding him in place against him so they moved together.

"You're killing me," Sebastian said as he licked the edge of Kurt's ear.

They continued dancing and quite a few guys tried to cut in and dance with one of them, but they didn't break apart.

Kurt moved one hand up behind Sebastian's head and started open-mouth kissing his neck.

"God, if you keep that up, I'm going to…"

Kurt stopped and pressed their foreheads together. "I'll stop. I don't want to embarrass you. We'll have to save the kissing for when we're dancing at home."

Santana and Brittany danced over to where they were and cut in. Brittany put her arms around Kurt and pulled him close. Santana wrapped her arms around Sebastian's neck.

"It looked like you two could use a breather," she teased. She pulled herself flush. "Uh huh. Nice," she said as she ground her hips against Sebastian the way Kurt had.

"Gay, remember? No girls. No offense. You're all kinds of hot, but no." They continued to dance.

Santana laughed, "Sorry, Britt. I tried."

Brittany pouted and sighed. "It's just not fair that you decided you were a unicorn before you gave me a chance to show you how much fun being a bicorn could be, Kurt."

Kurt ran his hand down Brittany's cheek. "I know, sweetie. You know that I think you're beautiful, but really, I'm just a unicorn."

"How about the two birdies you invited or your other two friends?"

"The birdies engaged to each other and Jeff is gay. I don't think they're going to be interested either."

"I'm going to try. It never hurts to try."

After a couple of songs, they switched partners again. She and Santana danced their way to the other side of the dance floor again. He saw the two of them dancing with Nick and Jeff and then with Trevor and Matt.

"Britt's not giving up on her idea of a foursome is she?" Sebastian said, laughing.

"Doesn't look like it."

"Matt's gay. She's not going to have much luck."

Kurt just laughed.

After a couple more songs, Sebastian said, "Let's go get some water," and pulled Kurt toward the bar, where they ran into Noah.

"Hey! Wanna play pool?" Kurt asked.

"Is this another one of your 'Let me kick your ass at something you don't think I'm manly enough to be any good at' ideas?"

"Maybe, but who knows, you might win." He winked at Noah and sauntered off to the pool tables. Sebastian followed him.

"Sassy Kurt is sexy." Sebastian stepped in front of him and kissed him. He spoke directly into his ear. "I have never played pool, but since it involves you leaning over in those pants, I think it's my new favorite sport to watch."

Sam followed them in as well. Kurt set up a game and within a minute, Noah was there ready to play. It was a close game, but Noah beat him by two shots, with an easy 8-ball shot at the end.

"Close, Kurt," Sam said. "Maybe next time."

"Maybe," he smirked.

"I get it. I got it ages ago. But I can imagine what the jocks would have done to you if you had beaten one of them at pool or bowling or whatever other manly things you can do. It would have been a total insult to their manliness if a 'fairy', their word not mine, had beaten them. You didn't participate in guy things because the guys would have beaten the crap out of you for showing them up."

"It's why I never fought back. Bruises were better than something worse."

"Well, I quit thinking you were prissy a while back. So, no more need to demonstrate your point. We can just hang out and be friends from now on, okay?"

"Okay. No more acting like I'm a delicate princess."

"Nope, but you will learn to be called 'dude'."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Ugh. You know I hate that."

"You only hated it because we never meant it. Now I do. You've always let Sam call you 'dude'. Just not me and Finn or anyone else. You're a dude, I can call you 'dude' from now on."

"Fine. You're right. I've never gotten onto Sam for calling me 'dude'. So, I accept your terms, Noah." Kurt offered a handshake.

Puck grabbed his hand and yanked him forward into a bear hug.

Kurt laughed and rolled his eyes. "Dance with me?"

"Sure, come on. I'll make all the guys who tried to cut in between the two of you jealous." Puck led Kurt lead him out to the dance floor.

"Come on, Sam," Sebastian grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the dance floor.

Santana and Brittany saw them and followed them, grabbing Nick and Jeff along the way. Kurt grabbed Matt and Trevor, who were sitting at the bar talking. They danced the way they had the first time they had come. They danced and kept trading partners, but wouldn't let anyone from outside their group cut in.

When Kurt got passed back to Sebastian, he kept hold of him and didn't let him go. Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian and held on tight. They were slow dancing to an upbeat song and neither one of them cared at all.

"Have you kept in contact with Dave? Being here reminded me of him."

"He texts me once in a while. He got a football scholarship to Purdue."

"Good for him."

Once midnight came around, Kurt rounded everyone up. "We're going to head back to Cincinnati. I hope you three had fun."

"It's a lot more fun than any place in Lima. That's for sure," Santana said.

"We'll be back in Lima Sunday. We'll see you, Noah." He spoke to Brittany and Santana. "You two should come over for pizza and a movie. Maybe Monday or Tuesday?" He hugged both of them.

"We'll text you."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When they pulled up in front of the house, Trevor said, "Thanks for inviting me, Kurt. That was actually a lot of fun. We need to find out if there's a place like that around here where people under 21 can get in. We're still on for the Fourth, right?"

"Definitely."

"See ya then!" He got in his car and drove off.

"I'm gonna grab my bag," Sam said. "I'll be right there."

"Us, too," Nick said.

Matt asked, "Would you mind if I just crash here?"

"Not at all. Come on up. Watch your step. I know what we need to get – some of those solar lights that just stick in the ground. That way people can see to get up the steps more easily. We rarely come home after dark, but we will this winter."

"Good idea," Sebastian said. He pulled his keys out and unlocked the door.

Matt followed him in. Kurt waited for Sam, Nick, and Jeff and then followed them in. Sebastian had just gotten the interior door unlocked as Kurt locked the exterior door.

"So, this is our place," Kurt said.

"You have furniture. You made it sound like it would be empty," Nick said.

"Well, someone gave us very generous graduation gifts and the couch is the futon my dad and I had in our old house."

"Nice. So, give us the tour."

Matt and Sam sat down on the couch and stayed out of the way since neither one of them needed a tour.

"Obviously, we're standing in the living room. To the right, you can see the kitchen farther back and the dining room, which is our dance studio as well.

They all took a few steps into the dining room. That door by the stove leads down to the basement, where the washer and dryer are." Kurt walked back into the living room.

"Follow me."

Sebastian was closer to the stairs and headed up. He stepped into their bedroom. Kurt stepped into the alcove to the left of the top of the stairs to get out of the way so everyone could fit in the hallway.

Sam came up the stairs and headed into the bathroom to take a really quick shower and change while Nick and Jeff were looking in the rooms.

"Looks like your dad let you bring your bed," Jeff said.

"Yep, and our dresser."

"This room, we had to furnish, other than the chair that I used to have in my room. The guy that redid the basement stairs, cut the wood for the Murphy bed, we painted it, and Sam helped us assemble and install it. The rest of the furniture is courtesy of Ikea."

"The bed turned out nice," Nick said. "Great space-saving idea."

"I'll leave you two to get ready for bed." Kurt stepped out of the study and shut the door behind him. He went into their bedroom and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt from their dresser and went back downstairs.

He handed the pajamas to Matt. "So, we had planned on Nick and Jeff sleeping in the study and Sam sleeping on the couch since it's a futon. So, you can join Sam on the futon or I can go down and bring our air mattress up. Your choice."

"I'll just share the futon. No need to get more stuff out."

"We usually shower at night, but feel free to go next. I'm going to go check the locks and make up the futon with sheets and stuff first."

Sam came back downstairs and Matt went upstairs.

"Kurt, come sit down."

Kurt double-checked the front doors, and then sat next to Sam on the couch.

"I think Matt's really cute."

"Umm hmm. He's really sweet too."

"I figured as much since you like him enough to invite him to spend time with you."

"So, does he know that you think he's cute?"

"Not because of anything I've said. I'm not even sure if he's gay or bi, but he danced with me tonight, quite a bit."

"Well, he's openly gay. He just didn't talk about it with me until after my acting lessons had ended. He felt like it wasn't a suitable topic until after our teacher/student relationship was over. But he told me a month ago or so. Anyway, it's not a secret. He probably thinks you already know since he told me."

Sam had a big smile on his face. Kurt headed back downstairs and brought up a storage bin with the bed linens for the futon. Sam helped him get it ready to sleep on.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

As Kurt came back up from checking everything and talking to Sam, Matt was coming out of the bathroom.

Kurt said, "See you in the morning."

Matt nodded and headed downstairs.

Sebastian and Kurt showered quickly and went to sleep as well.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt woke up early as usual. He was still tired, but his internal alarm clock just wouldn't let him go back to sleep. He lay still and just looked at Sebastian.

Around 8:30, he heard Nick and Jeff heading into the bathroom to shower. The noise roused Sebastian just enough that he opened his eyes and saw Kurt lying there looking at him.

"Good morning, beautiful," Sebastian said quietly. "How long have you been watching me sleep?"

"Um, maybe two hours."

"I cannot possibly be that interesting," he teased.

"Oh, but you are. I look at you and remember things we've done together and I think about things I want to do with you. And I think about how happy being with you makes me and how lucky I am that you want to be with me."

"Well, I feel like I'm the lucky one." He closed the short distance between them and kissed Kurt.

"Shall we head down and start making breakfast?"

"More kisses?"

"Of course."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got downstairs to find that Matt was sitting up to the bar and Sam was quietly looking through the cabinets.

"Can I help you find something?" Kurt teased as he came around the corner.

"Coffee filters?"

"Ah. We bought a permanent coffee filter so we didn't have to keep buying the paper ones. It's in the coffee maker as far as I know." Kurt slid the compartment open and showed him.

"Good idea." He put the coffee in and turned it on.

Kurt started to get things out of the refrigerator. Matt watched as the other three worked together and in a half-hour, they had breakfast for everyone ready. Sam went around the counter and sat next to Matt. Kurt and Sebastian were standing facing them when Nick and Jeff came downstairs just in time to grab their plates.

"You two sit down. You cooked for us. We can eat standing up."

Kurt and Sebastian sat down.

"We already have stuff for sandwiches and other things ready to take to Eden Park for a picnic, and then we'll go to the Cincinnati Art Museum, which is in the park."

"You already made everyone breakfast. You packed lunches for everyone too?" Jeff asked.

"Not individual lunches, but we have stuff already made to take. We just need to pack it up whenever we're ready to go. It's nothing fancy. We made some chicken salad, raw vegetables, fruit salad, and chocolate no-bakes."

"Is it okay if I tag along?" Matt asked.

"Sure. Do you want some clothes to wear or do you want to run home and change and come back?"

"I'll run home and be back in a half-hour. I'll bring your pajamas back with me. I'm just going to drive home wearing them."

Kurt laughed. "That's fine." He took Matt's plate and put it with his in the dishwasher.

Matt grabbed the clothes he had worn to the club and headed home to change.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Jeff and Nick asked Sebastian to show them how to put the Murphy bed back up.

"So, you and Matt?"

"Maybe. We're going to hang out as friends for a while. He knows that I'm just now coming out and that I've never dated a guy. He's just slightly leery because he wants to stay friends with you, but he knows that I'm your best friend. So, if we go out and break up, everything could be really awkward. So, we decided to start off slow. Get to know each other first and see if there's any chemistry beyond the initial attraction."

"Sounds like a good plan."

Sam was staring off into space with a smile on his face.

"You better go get dressed or he'll be back and you'll still be in your pajamas."

"Right. Clothes."

Kurt laughed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

That evening, Kurt and Sebastian headed back to Lima so they could work all day Sunday, which would allow them finish their work week on Wednesday at lunch instead of Thursday. Burt was home the whole week and was planning a big family cookout for the Fourth of July.

They spent Tuesday evening baking cupcakes, cookies, and a patriotic cheesecake. Sarah made red velvet cupcakes and frosted them, with a little help from Noah. She put the blueberry and strawberry stripes on the cheesecake as well.

Wednesday morning, Burt and Noah prepped the meat for the cookout and Carole made potato salad and baked beans. Sarah made a fruit salad and a vegetable tray with Noah's help after the meat was ready to go.

When Kurt and Sebastian got back from the shop at noon, Burt started putting the meat on the grill. He got to use his new grill spatula. They showered quickly, dressed, and came downstairs to help set the table.

"Don't we need more plates? There's only 8 here."

"Rachel and the Berrys aren't coming," Carole said.

"Oh, okay."

Kurt heard the front door open and Finn, Noah, and Nana Ruth came in. Noah helped his nana into a chair in the dining room. Sarah went rushing in to see her and gave her a big hug and started talking a mile a minute about all of the things she had helped make for lunch and about summer camp.

Noah went out back to help Burt with the grilling.

"Kurt, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah, sure Finn. Let's go upstairs."

Sebastian saw the two of them heading toward the stairs and continued making tea and lemonade.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Finn followed Kurt into the bedroom and sat in the chair by the window. He put his head in his hands and propped his elbows on his knees, hunched over.

"I think it's over with me and Rachel."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Finn."

"I should have listened to you and Mom and Dad. I just felt like everyone was treating me like a kid. Like I didn't have the right to make my own decisions."

"I get that. There were just things you didn't know that you didn't want to hear about because you thought we were just trying to get you to change your mind."

"Yeah. I do still love her. I just don't know what to do."

"Why didn't she and her dads come today?"

"Oh, the camp counselors are all having a cookout at Blaine's. I was invited too, well, all of the husbands and wives and whatever were invited to go too, but I didn't want to go. I think she's in love with him. I'm not saying that she doesn't love me because she says she does and I don't think she's lying to me. But I think she loves him too."

"That's possible. But it might not be romantic love. She may love him the way she would if he were her brother or something."

"Nope. Pretty sure she still thinks he's cute and has a crush on him. It's 'Blaine this' and 'Blaine that' and 'it was so cute when the kids were doing whatever with us'. I mean she chose to go to his cookout over coming here with me like we had planned."

"I see."

"I think I should let her go. I think I should go ahead and sign the divorce papers and let her move into the dorm. I just know that I can't offer her what a straight guy like Blaine can. I can't be interested in all that stuff. I mean, I could make myself learn about it, just like we had to learn stuff we didn't care about for school, but it wouldn't make me care about it."

"So, you think she's going to be unhappy to be married to you, if you go with her to New York?"

"I think I'm going to be the odd man out every freakin' day of my life. She's going to make new friends with people like Blaine. Lots of them. She'll go out with them, have them over, and spend lots of time with them, and I'll have nothing to say. I'll just be sitting there taking up space."

"I see. You could make new friends of your own."

"Yeah, I know. But she won't hang out with any of them. She never has here. Why would that change just because we're there? It's even less likely there because she'll have lots of people to pick from to do things she actually likes."

"So, you've made up your mind?"

"Mostly. I went to Lima Community College for some more tests. I filled out an application and got approved. I think I'd like to be a teacher."

"That's a good goal. God knows we could use good teachers."

Finn laughed. "Yeah, that's for sure."

"So, are you moving back home?"

"I'm going to talk to her again at the counselor's, but yeah, I think so."

"Rachel was wrong about Sebastian, wasn't she? I've been watching him with you. He's really good to you."

"She was completely wrong."

"I was wrong about you too. Puck's been pounding it into my head what a jackass I've been to you – that I made things a lot worse for you. I said I'd be there for you at the wedding and then I got caught up with wanting to keep what was mine – meaning the guys in Glee. The counselor made me talk about it during my sessions. You were better than me and I hated it. You're smarter, you're a better singer, you can do like a million things that I can't. I was jealous and I didn't want you to be top dog in Glee. And Rachel fed my ego. She'd always tell me why I was a better lead than you. I liked it hearing that. And now Mom has five kids instead of just me."

"I think you should keep seeing the counselor, even if you decide to break it off with Rachel. There's still more you need to work through."

"Yeah, I know. Part of me knew that marrying Rachel was a bad idea, but she was so determined to be with me. She made me feel special."

"I can understand that draw of wanting to be wanted. It's an amazing feeling knowing that someone else feels like that about you."

"Yeah."

"Rachel has actively pursued you for three years, maybe before, but I didn't know her then. It's hard to see a situation from the outside when you're in the middle of it. It took someone else pointing out how messed up my relationship with Rachel was for me to even begin to consider how it was affecting me. Things would be very, very different for me if I hadn't listened."

Finn nodded.

"That's what the counseling is supposed to help with. In high school, you just slid through. You didn't study hard. You didn't develop an interest in anything. You did just the bare minimum to get by. And Rachel wanted you. She desperately tried to get you to be her boyfriend. You didn't have to put any effort into that. She was just always there pursuing you."

"Yeah."

"But honestly, Finn, even if you walk away from Rachel and go out looking for a different girlfriend, you're going to have to be willing to step outside your areas of interest and learn things about what another girl is interested in. Your range of interests is very narrow. I'm not saying that it's impossible to find a girl that loves football, basketball, and baseball games, drinking beer, eating pizza, and shooting things on a TV screen. But in all honesty, there aren't that many who only like those things."

"I get that, but I really just don't care about Broadway and acting. And New York – it just doesn't seem like the place for me. I like performing, but I'd be more likely to join a band and play in a local bar for fun."

"And I think you'd be good at that, but you'll have to wait two years for that. But you could do the garage band thing until you're old enough to play in bars."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, you have a lot of things to think about still. I'm sure lunch is done. Let's get downstairs. Dad's been excited about this all week."

"Okay."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Lunch was delicious and when it was over, Kurt and Sebastian packed up some leftovers to take back with them to Cincinnati. Kurt had already kept an entire batch of cookies back to have that evening.

They enjoyed the afternoon. Kurt and Sebastian spent time playing Barbies with Sarah. She had bought herself another Barbie and two Kens and some more clothes at a yard sale with the $10 she had. She showed them her artwork from camp and she asked them questions about Cincinnati and every other question that popped into her mind while they colored and drew more pictures. Noah came in and colored with them for a while.

Around 5:00 they hugged everyone, packed their stuff into the Navigator and headed back to Cincinnati.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

On the drive back, Kurt told Sebastian what Finn had told him.

"So, he's still jealous after more than a year and a half of them being married?"

"I'm not even sure if it jealous, per se. I think he's just feeling the letdown of not being the top dog any more. He didn't really plan for anything. McKinley is really terrible at helping students prepare for life after high school. He's not captain of the football team. He's not the male lead singer in Glee. He's not succeeding at being Rachel's husband. He feels like he lost his place at home. Noah and Sarah have been sharing his room and now Noah is keeping it, even if Finn goes back to living at home. I think he just feels lost."

"I know how that feels. You met me when I was there. I had just about hit rock bottom. I know you're trying to be there for him. That's about all we can do. Hopefully, seeing the counselor will help him find his way."

"I hope so, but enough of that. Are you excited to see the fireworks tonight?"

"I am. It should be fun."

"I've wanted to go see the fireworks in a big city for a long time. It's going to be fun to watch them from our house this year. We can go down to the river front next year if we want to."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam was sitting on their deck when they got there. He followed them inside and started cooking with Kurt while Sebastian emptied the Navigator out.

About 10 minutes later, Matt showed up with a bag of food. He went inside and started to help. A few minutes later, Trevor and Kylie showed up with four camping chairs and more food.

Trevor set the chairs up on the deck. Sebastian brought up the two chairs they had brought from Lima up from the Navigator and put them out on the deck as well.

Trevor made the introductions.

"Kylie, this is Kurt, Sam, and Sebastian. They're starting at UC this fall too."

"Nice to meet the three of you. Hey, Matt."

Matt hugged Kylie and spun her around before putting her down causing her to squeal, "I'm not 8 anymore. Put me down. I'm nearly as tall as you. You're going to break your back." Like Trevor, she had hazel eyes and wavy sandy blond, light brown hair, but hers was past her shoulder blades. She had an athletic build – slim, but muscular.

"Long time, no see. How was Grandma Jane's farm?"

"Full of stinky animals, as usual. Me and Trevor had fun anyway. But I missed my WiFi and you of course." She hip checked him.

Matt laughed at her. "I'm sure you did."

Kurt said, "Wait. You and Trevor are related?"

"Did we never mention that?" Matt said. "Trevor's my cousin and Kylie too, obviously. My mom is their dad's sister."

"I'll draw you a family tree later," Kylie said.

Kurt laughed.

"What are you three majoring in?" she asked.

"Musical theatre."

"Art."

"Finance. You?"

"Secondary Education. I want to be a music teacher."

"Well, we need all the good teachers we can get," Kurt said.

"Yeah. Kurt and I didn't go to the best example of public education."

"I see," she said. "I went to public school in Columbus, but it was a good school."

They went back to getting everything ready to eat. Kylie started singing and it didn't take long before they were all singing.

"I need some drums," Matt said. "I'd make a better addition to the group as the drummer."

"We need a bass guitarist," Kurt said.

"I play bass," Kylie said.

"And about 10 other instruments," Trevor added, teasing her.

"Well, we have a full band then," Sam said.

"Won't we need another girl?" she asked.

"Nope," Trevor answered. "Kurt's a countertenor."

"Awesome."

"What do the rest of you play?" she asked.

"Guitar."

"Keyboard, but Trevor is a lot better than me. So, I'll just sing."

"I play flute, so I'll just sing too."

"Do you have a Wii?"

"Yeah," Sam answered.

"Next time we'll bring Wii Rock Band."

"Sounds fun," Kurt said.

They got everything out on the counter and made themselves plates full of tacos and headed out to the deck to eat. Once they finished, Kurt and Sebastian packed up the leftovers and got out the desserts.

They headed out to the deck and passed the desserts back and forth while they waited for the fireworks to start.

"Oh, God. Where did these cookies come from?" Kylie asked.

Sebastian answered, "Kurt made them."

"These are sooo good."

"Everything he makes is that good," Sam said.

"I will pay you to make me stuff," she said.

"That's the first offer of cash I've gotten," Kurt laughed. "I might take you up on that some time. I love to bake, but I like to wear skinny jeans too much to eat much of what I bake."

She laughed at him. "What other offers have you gotten?"

Sam answered, "One was a marriage proposal and I believe the last girl said she would give him whatever he wanted."

"Oh, my." Kylie laughed. "I'm a little late on the marriage proposal and not properly equipped for the job."

"That's true, but I do like cash," he teased back. "Or you could just come bake with us."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After the fireworks ended, they put all the camping chairs in their bags and stacked them in the foyer. Kurt went upstairs and brought down both of their moon chairs and put one on each end of the couch. Sebastian, Kurt, Sam, and Matt sat together on the couch giving Kylie and Trevor the moon chairs.

Since Kurt didn't know Kylie's taste in movies, he had asked her to bring one. She put in _Dave. _

It started to play and Kurt said, "I've never seen this. When was this made?"

"Before we were born," Kylie answered. "Our dad loves this movie and it's the Fourth of July, so I thought it would be funny."

They all enjoyed the movie. Afterwards, Trevor and Kylie headed back to Trevor's. Matt and Sam took the bed in the study.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam left the next morning about the time Kurt woke up to make it to his job on time. After Sam left, Sebastian and Kurt went back to bed to snuggle more until Matt woke up at 9:00.

They ate the leftovers from their dinner the night before for brunch after Matt showered and got ready.

Kurt and Sebastian had weighed the pros and cons and decided that they'd rather have fun at the skate park the rest of the summer than to have more chairs right away, so the three of them headed to the skateboard shop for Kurt and Sebastian to finally get their skateboards.

They enjoyed the process of watching their choices come together into the final product as the skateboard shop owner assembled their one-of-a-kind skateboards. Once they were ready to use, the three of them headed to the skate park to meet Trevor, Kylie, and some of Matt's other friends.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, Kurt woke up and lay quietly waiting for Sebastian to wake up. When he stirred, Kurt started kissing him.

"Today's your birthday celebration day."

"Really?"

"I really didn't mean for it to take so long, but we've been busy pretty much every day we've been here. But today, is just for us."

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well, the plan is that I spoil you by making you breakfast in bed."

"Okay. That sounds tasty. Then what?"

"You'll see."

"You just lie back and read your book. I'll be back with your breakfast soon." He kissed Kurt and slipped his robe on and headed to the kitchen.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was back quickly with a veggie and cheese omelette with just one fork and two glasses of orange juice.

"One fork?"

"So, I can feed you of course."

Sebastian fed them both. Afterwards, he took everything back downstairs, put it in the dishwasher, and came back up.

When he came back in the room he had something in his hand, but Kurt couldn't tell what it was. Sebastian sat down on the bed and showed it to him.

"It's supposed to be really relaxing. It smells good. Smell it before I put it on you though, just in case you don't like it." He opened the bottle.

"It's nice."

Sebastian got up and hung his robe on the back of the door with Kurt's. Kurt scooted to the middle of the bed. Sebastian used just the tiniest bit of the oil on Kurt's feet first.

"What do you think? I'll still use your lotion on your back."

"I like it. I do think it would be really strong if you used it all over me, though."

Sebastian got up and put the oil on the side table and grabbed Kurt's lotion to finish the massage. Once he was done, he reached down and pulled his narrow wood box off the lower shelf of the side table and put it between the headboard and his pillow.

Kurt gave Sebastian a very confused look. He thought Sebastian had gotten the unusual carved hinged box to hold pencils and pens.

Sebastian lay down on his side of the bed. He kissed Kurt and got him to turn over to lie facing him. Sebastian scooted closer. They were nose to nose.

"So…" Sebastian closed his eyes and took a breath. He felt Kurt's lips pressing against his gently. He opened his eyes.

"You looked tense."

"Oh. I am a little."

"You know you can tell me anything."

"I know." He kissed Kurt again, drawing strength to say what he wanted. "I'm offering myself to you."

Kurt wasn't sure what he meant. "You already did. You're already with me. We're going to get married."

He took another breath and kissed Kurt again. He wrapped his arm around Kurt. "I mean if you're ready, I'd like you to make love to me." He pressed in and kissed Kurt again. He held him loosely enough to pull back to look Kurt in the eyes. "It's an offer. That's why I stated it the way I did the first time. If you're not ready, I will wait until you are. So, it's okay to say 'not yet'."

Kurt kissed him. "I want to. I really do. But I'm scared. Can we just snuggle and I'll think about it?"

"Of course."

"You're not upset with me are you?"

"No, _mon étoile_. I'm not upset." He kissed Kurt gently. "I wasn't honestly expecting you say 'okay' and then just go for it. I know it means a lot to both of us and you like to plan. I just want you to know that my offer stands. I'm ready whenever you are."

"The box?"

"I put what we need in it."

"Okay. You're sure you're not upset?"

"I'm sure." He pulled Kurt close. "I love you and you love me. And one day, when you're ready, I just want you to know that I'm ready."

Kurt kissed him again. "Will you turn over and be the little spoon?"

Sebastian turned over. Kurt scooted up as close as he could get and slipped his arm under Sebastian's pillow and his other arm around Sebastian's chest. "After we snuggle, you can show me what's in the box, okay?"

"Sure."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian had cooked the meat for soup when he was making breakfast and he put all of the ingredients in the pot and put it in the fridge to put on the stove whenever they got hungry.

He bought _Cover Girl_ for Kurt as a birthday present. They put the futon down into the bed position and made it up and snuggled and watched it as well as _Singing in the Rain_, which Kurt owned, but Sebastian had never seen all the way through.

They spent the rest of the day pampering each other and just enjoying that they were together. It seemed like it had been ages since they had a full day where it was just the two of them without a bunch of things on their to-do list.

Thursday spread into the whole weekend. They read, watched movies, played games, snuggled, danced, and kissed. By the end of the weekend, it was the first time they both felt like the half-week they had spent in Cincinnati was spending half the week at home. They went back to Lima on Sunday, but this time, they felt like they were visiting.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The following Thursday, Burt was back in town. He stopped by the shop at lunchtime right before Kurt and Sebastian were done for the day.

"Hey, Kurt, I'm going to take Sebastian with me to get the stuff Carole wanted from Sam's Club. I never did get him his own card and he's not a mess like you are. He might need to go shopping without you sometime and he can't get in until he gets his own card. Why don't you head home and scrub that grease off of yourself and we'll be there soon."

"That's fine, Dad."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt hurried upstairs and cleaned up and got redressed. He had scheduled Sebastian to work on the books that morning as part of his plan to keep Sebastian from looking like a grease monkey when he got off. He grabbed Sebastian's camera and took it downstairs with him. He went back down to the kitchen to help Carole, Noah, and Sarah finish up Sebastian's surprise birthday lunch party.

Carole had made chicken salad and bought croissants, and put out regular bread as well. She also made a nice chopped vegetable salad to go with it. She also bought Sebastian's favorite French cheese just for him. Kurt dumped a large bag of potato chips into a bowl and put them on the table.

Noah and Sarah had made a German Chocolate layer cake. Sarah had very carefully placed chocolate letters on it that said "Happy 19th" - "Birthday" - "Sebastian" in three rows across the center of the cake. She carefully counted 19 candles and put them around the outer edge of the cake. She left it sit in the kitchen on the island, awaiting Sebastian's arrival, and then she went to look out the front window to let everyone know when Burt pulled up.

Kurt went to check on her.

"He's really never had a birthday party?"

"Nope. Never."

"We'll he'll be happy and surprised then."

"I think so. You keep watching. But don't yell. Just come to the kitchen and tell us when you see the truck coming down the street."

"Okay."

Kurt made lemonade and Noah filled the glasses with ice and put them on the table. Kurt filled the glasses and made another pitcher and put it on the table.

A few minutes later, Sarah came bounding in. "They're coming."

"Okay. Go sit in the chair in the living room with his balloons. We're coming."

Noah, Kurt, and Carole moved to the living room. Kurt was holding the camera so it was angled toward the door to try to catch Sebastian's expression as he came in.

A few minutes later, Burt opened the door, and let Sebastian walk in first.

"SURPRISE!"

Kurt pressed the button and took a few shots.

Sebastian was speechless.

_Happy Birthday to you! _

_Happy Birthday to you! _

_Happy Birthday, dear Sebastian. _

_Happy birthday to you!_

Sarah got up and handed him the balloons. "These are from me and Noah."

He picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you. No one has ever given me balloons before. They're wonderful."

Kurt took more pictures.

"Carry me into the dining room."

Kurt went around through the kitchen as quickly as he could and caught Sebastian walking in from the other end. He started to cry.

"Are you sad, Sebastian? Did we make the wrong food?"

"No, Sarah. Sometimes when people are REALLY happy, they cry too. It's perfect." He put her down.

She took the balloons and tied them to his chair and pulled it out for him. "Sit down."

He went and sat in the chair. Kurt sat next to him and everyone started passing the food around and filling their plates. Once they had eaten, Sarah got up and Noah followed her. She grabbed the dessert plates and he carried the cake.

"Close your eyes, Bas," she called out.

He closed his eyes. Noah put the cake in front of him and used a grill lighter to light the candles quickly. Kurt stood on the other side of the table with everyone. Noah moved to stand behind Sarah once the candles were lit.

She said, "Open your eyes!"

Kurt watched him, but continued taking a few pictures as well.

"You have to make a wish and then blow out the candles," she told him.

He closed his eyes, and then opened them. He took a deep breath and blew all of the candles out.

"Good job. Now, your wish will come true." She clapped for him. "Me and Noah made the cake for you."

"Thank you. It looks delicious."

Sarah took all of the candles off, and Kurt handed Sebastian a long, thin knife to cut the cake. Sarah delivered a piece to each person's spot at the table.

"You can eat the chocolate letters. They're really tasty. I ate the Z and the X to make sure they were good before I put them on your cake."

Sebastian laughed. "Thank you for making sure they were good first."

"You're welcome."

Sebastian took a bite. "Mmm. It's really good. I've never had this kind of cake before. I like it. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it." She sat down and took a bite of her piece. "It's called a German chocolate cake."

When they finished, Burt and Carole gave him a card. "You can open it later," Carole said.

Sarah handed him a card. "You can read mine now."

On the front, she had written, "Bon anniversaire" and had drawn a rainbow with grass and flowers. He opened it. "I hope it's your best birthday ever. Love, Sarah".

"Thank you. And it has been the best birthday."

She smiled and clapped.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian went upstairs while everyone else cleaned up. Once they got inside the bedroom, Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"Thank you. I know that was your planning. You are so sweet."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"It was amazing. A real birthday party."

Kurt held him close. "I love you so much. I'm so glad you were born."

Kurt kissed up his neck and across his jaw and eventually made it to his lips. He walked slowly forward until Sebastian's knees were against the bed and he sat down. Sebastian slipped his shoes off and slid up in the bed. Kurt straddled his legs and leaned forward and started unbuttoning Sebastian's shirt, starting at the bottom and kissing his way up as he revealed skin.

When he got up to Sebastian's ear, he whispered, "Can I?"

Sebastian closed his eyes and nodded.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they had time to recuperate from their celebration, they redressed. Sebastian picked his card up off the dresser and opened it. He read the front and Kurt saw a few tears escape.

"They got me a sappy, sweet card."

"They love you."

"I know."

"There's a gift card like the one you got. We can get some more chairs. Maybe we should just get another whole set like the one we have. We can either leave the second table unassembled or just keep it in the basement with the other one. That way we'd have seating for 8 people."

"That's true."

"We've already had more people over than I expected we'd have the whole first semester. You already knowing Matt and Trevor is getting us friends more quickly than I had expected."

"I knew we got along well, but I didn't realize how interested they were in actually being friends with me."

"You're a great guy. I've been telling you that for what? 8 months? One day it will sink in." Sebastian grabbed him bridal style and tossed him back on the bed and mock pinned him on his hands and knees. He leaned back and started tickling Kurt. "You're amazing." He quit tickling him and leaned down on his elbows and forearms and kissed Kurt gently. "I love you."

Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck. "I love you too." He caught Sebastian off guard and flipped their positions. "I've finally figured out what I want to do."

"What's that?"

"Go shopping." Kurt kissed him.

"Shopping on MY birthday?"

"Yep. Shopping." He kissed Sebastian. "Come on."

"More kisses."

Kurt started kissing him all over his face and his shoulders and everywhere he could reach.

"You are so crazy sometimes."

Kurt stood up and reached out for him. "I know."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"'Three and a half yards.' is all I say? And I just lay this down?" Sebastian asked very quietly.

"Yep."

He stepped forward and laid the bolt of black fabric onto the cutting counter. "Three and a half yards, please."

"Sure." The employee measured it out, cut it quickly, folded it up, put the print out on it, and handed it to him. "Thank you. Next!"

He stepped away and walked a few feet down.

"Two and a quarter yards for me, please." The employee repeated the process and handed Kurt the fabric.

Kurt walked to where Sebastian was standing and they walked up to the cash registers.

"Just give her the coupon with the slip. I'll go first." He handed Sebastian a $10 bill along with the coupon.

A few minutes later, they were back in the Navigator. "The throw pillows from your dorm room are going to get a makeover and go on our couch."

"Good idea since the pillows don't match anything at home. And I'm not sure that I understood what you said about piecing the fabric, but I really like the Paris-themed fabric and it's white and black and brown, so it should look great in the dining room."

"And on the throw pillows. I think you'll like the final product. I'll work on it the next weekend when we're at home." Kurt reached out for Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers.

"We have our own home. And you're making stuff for us for our home."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian thanked both Burt and Carole for the card and gift card at dinner. Kurt washed the dishes and Sebastian dried, despite Carole trying to shoo him out of the kitchen since it was his birthday.

They did their laundry and repacked before they got in the shower, which was extra long and pleasurable. They climbed into to bed to go to sleep earlier than usual.

Kurt curled up behind Sebastian and held him close. "I'm excited about tomorrow. I'm sure it's different than the ocean, but I'm still looking forward to it."

"Me too. It will be fun. We always have a good time with them. I had a great birthday." He kissed Kurt's knuckles. "I love you."

"I'm glad you had fun even through I made you go shopping with me."

"I had fun being with you and I learned how to buy fabric. And I know this weekend is part of my birthday celebration. No one's ever cared."

"Well, lots of people care now. Most especially me. I love you." He kissed Sebastian's neck and snuggled in to sleep.

"I love you too."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They left at 6:30 Friday morning and made it to Jeff's house around 9:00. They hung around the house for a while, and then headed to the beach. Friday evening, they had a cookout with Nick's and Jeff's families.

Saturday morning, they headed to the Cleveland Zoo. Kurt knew Nick and Jeff had passes that they could all use to get in for free, but he kept it a secret from Sebastian, so he would be surprised about where they were going. They bought feeding passes and tickets to ride the camel, train, and the carousel.

Saturday evening, Jeff drove around, showing them different interesting parts of Cleveland.

Sunday, they visited the Cleveland Museum of Art for the whole afternoon, which they all four enjoyed.

Kurt and Sebastian cooked dinner for Jeff's family as a thank you for letting them stay. They left after dinner to head back to Lima for their half-week stay.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They worked their half-week in Lima and headed back to Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon. On the way into town, they stopped at Ikea and picked up the second table and bar stools set. The also stopped and Jungle Jim's to add to what they had brought with them from Sam's Club.

They carried everything in and put their groceries away and got busy on the table assembly. The process was quick because they had already done it once before. They brought the table up from the basement and sat it next to the new table next to it so it created a square-ish, large rectangle.

Kurt took the fabric out of the bag and draped it across the center.

"I'll put the black on the sides of the Paris fabric making it wide enough to cover the whole table. And the back will be solid black if we just want to use it that way."

"I like it. The pillows will be the Paris fabric on one side and black on the back too?"

"Yep. They'll look good with the couch."

"I agree."

"We could also leave one of the tables up here and leave the other in the basement. We can just see how things work best. It's not that heavy. I could just pick it up and stand it in the kitchen when I'm dancing."

"We'll figure out what works."

"I'm going to run the fabric through the washer and dryer and iron it so I can get started sewing. We can put the chairs together later."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian had an appointment with his advisor for that afternoon at 4:00, which he had asked for after he had gotten his AP Exam scores back. At the appointment, he found out that he had gotten 14 credit hours for French and 8 for Calculus from his AP scores and that could finish the B.S. in Finance program in three years rather than four and go ahead and move on to working on his Master's degree, which could be completed in two semesters, allowing him to complete the program and graduate at the same time Kurt would. He signed up for an additional course, so he could follow the plan he and the advisor created to complete his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in four years.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

While Sebastian was at the appointment, Kurt worked on the sewing projects. He was almost done when Sebastian got back. He went to the top of the stairs when he heard Sebastian come in.

"I'm almost done. I'll be down in a few minutes."

"That's fine. I'm just sitting down here reading some stuff she gave me."

Once the tablecloth was done, he took it down to the basement and ironed it. When he came back up, he spread it out on the table.

"Bas?"

Sebastian looked up from what he was reading.

"What do you think?"

He got up and went in the dining room. "Oh, it looks really good. I mostly understood what you meant, but I need to learn some more sewing terms so that when you describe things to me, I can do a better job of visualizing them. I really like it. We should put black candle holders on our Goodwill wish list."

"Good idea. The pillows are done too." Kurt had sat them on the barstools at the counter when he came back upstairs. He picked them up and carried them to the living room and put them on the couch.

"It's hard to believe that those are the red pillows I used all semester. They look very chic now. And the fabric looks great with the couch."

"I'm glad you like them."

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Kurt from behind and kissed him on the neck. "You're good at designing stuff. You get to take classes in design, right?"

"I do. It's one of the things I'm really looking forward to."

"Well, I really like the first things you've made for our house."

Sebastian kissed his neck again and let him go.

"Ready to put those chairs together?"


	33. Chapter 33

Friday morning, Kurt tried to sneak out of bed when he woke up, but Sebastian just doubled-down on his koala grip on him when he tried to move.

"_Bas, mon joyau, I'm just trying to go down and make us breakfast. I'll bring it right back up."_

"_Kisses."_

Kurt laughed. _"Of course."_

They kissed a few times and Sebastian loosen his grip, but not completely. "I missed being here last week. I had a good time in Cleveland with Nick and Jeff, but I missed being home."

"Me too. I like being here with you." Kurt resumed the kisses.

A few minutes later, Kurt went down and made breakfast and brought up waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, and some sausages. Sebastian slid up in the bed when he heard Kurt come into their room. Kurt put the tray in front of him and sat down facing him.

"You made me waffles."

"I did."

"With strawberries, like the first time you made them for me."

"Mmm hmm."

Sebastian cut into the stack and put the bite in his mouth. "So good. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They sat and ate until the food was gone.

"That was delicious. I'll take the tray back down."

When Sebastian came back upstairs, he stopped in the bathroom. He came back in their room, closed the door, and put his robe on the hook on the back of the door. He turned around to get back in bed and he saw Kurt lying in the bed waiting for him. He had put the wooden box that been on the lower shelf of Sebastian's side table on his pillow while he was gone.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"You're sure?" Sebastian put the narrow box between his pillow and the headboard and got back in bed. He lay down facing Kurt.

Kurt turned on his side. He put his hand on Sebastian's neck and ran his thumb along his jawline. "I'm sure. I love you. You just took me by surprise two weeks ago. I just needed more time to feel at home and relaxed here. Spending that whole weekend here – just us pampering each other was what I needed to feel at home here."

"I love you so much." He scooted closer to Kurt and kissed him, starting slow and gentle. There was no need to rush. He rolled onto his back and Kurt moved to lie on top of him.

After several minutes of building kisses. Kurt pushed up onto his knees straddling Sebastian. He ran his hands all over everywhere he could reach, very much like when he and Sebastian had taken their shirts off for the first time.

He leaned forward and started kissing and licking the freckles up to Sebastian's neck. By the time he made his way up to Sebastian's ear, Sebastian was speaking French.

"_Please? Mon étoile. Make love to me."_

Kurt pushed up and reached into the box and pulled out what he needed.

"_You're sure?"_

"_Absolutely."_

"_My biggest fear is hurting you. I'll go slow."_ He leaned forward and kissed Sebastian, passionate kisses full of love.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian was the little spoon and Kurt was snuggled up behind him as close as he could get. He had his arm under Sebastian's pillow and his other arm across Sebastian's chest holding him close. He placed gentle open mouth kisses to the back of Sebastian's neck and across his shoulder. Their hands were interlaced.

"_I love you, Bas. So much."_

"_I love you too. That was amazing."_

"_After we rest, I want us to switch."_

"_You're sure?"_

"_Definitely. If I don't like being on my back, if I feel trapped that way, we can rearrange ourselves."_

"_Alright. As long as you're sure."_

Kurt resumed kissing his neck. He slipped his hand free from Sebastian's and started caressing Sebastian everywhere he could reach, applying just the amount of pressure that Sebastian liked.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later, their positions were reversed and Sebastian was holding Kurt. He ran his hand along Kurt's upper arm and then put his hand on Kurt's hip.

"You're not too sore, are you?"

"No, I'm fine." Kurt took Sebastian's hand and put it over his heart, and then covered it with his own. "I love you. And I want to switch as long as you do. It just took me a little longer to relax than it did you, which isn't surprising. I'm more tense and less relaxed than you in general. It was fantastic."

"As long as you're sure."

"I'm positive."

"Why can I smell soup?"

"Oh, when I was making breakfast, I put everything for soup in the crock-pot so we could eat lunch whenever we want to."

"You're just planning on keeping me in bed all day."

"Seemed like a good plan." He rolled over in Sebastian's arms and kissed him gently. "Being with you is amazing. Thank you for being patient with me."

"I love you. I would never push you. I will always be patient. If we want a quick solution, we have hands and mouths."

Kurt laughed. "That's true. I might be more relaxed that way. We'll try that first next time." Kurt pushed Sebastian over onto his back and sprawled out on him and intertwined everything he could and they took a nap.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Over lunch they planned Sunday's housewarming party.

"They're bringing the three stools from the kitchen island with them. We'll sit those up to the counter and sit the chairs around the table, decorated with our new tablecloth. Mom's bringing a lot of food with her. She's doing the prep tomorrow."

"You're making desserts, right?"

"Yes. A chocolate cake and snickerdoodles, I think, but I haven't completely decided."

"Sounds tasty." He leaned toward Kurt and kissed him. He scooted his bar stool closer so he could wrap his around Kurt's back, gently caressing his side, while they continued to eat and talk.

"So, we got our tuition bills in the mail. We should be able to figure out our budget better now that we've gotten our utility bills."

"We need to go visit the bookstore and look online and see if we can find any good deals on our books."

"And Dad still says that he'll help us, if we need it."

"We need to make a spreadsheet for our grocery shopping. I think we can save money that way. Make a menu and stick to it, with a few flexible meals on the weekends to try new recipes."

"Good plan. I think I'm going to spend the last of my birthday gift card getting the sheers for the windows. We saw some with a nice pattern at Ikea that were super inexpensive compared to everywhere else I've looked online."

"That's fine. We can grab them when were out getting what we need for Sunday."

"I'm glad you decided to get the table and chairs. I like that we can have everyone here."

"Me too." He smiled and slipped into staring off into space.

Kurt kissed him on the cheek. "Bas?"

"Yeah?" He turned and kissed Kurt on the lips.

"You were zoning out."

"Oh. I was just thinking. Next week I'll take those ASE tests. Then we need to start looking for jobs here."

"You're right. Do you want any more soup?"

"No thanks. I'm pretty full. It was good. We can heat the rest up for lunch tomorrow and not have to stop to cook while we're making the stuff for Sunday."

Kurt got up and put their bowls in the dishwasher. "That's something we didn't really think about yet."

"What's that?"

"We don't really have any storage bowls."

"I have some money left on my gift card still. Let's use it to get some glass storage bowls. Maybe Kohl's has a big set and we can use a coupon again."

"You can look. I guess I'll just put the whole crock in the refrigerator for now." Kurt rearranged the food to make room for the crock on the top shelf. He walked around the counter and spun Sebastian's chair so he was facing him. He stepped between his legs, leaned forward, and kissed Sebastian. "Six months ago, I asked this amazing guy to be my boyfriend and he agreed. Such a crazy guy."

Sebastian put his phone on the counter and wrapped his arms around Kurt. "Absolutely crazy… about you." He tipped his head up and leaned forward and they kissed again.

"And then he asked me to marry him."

"And you were crazy enough to say 'yes'."

"I was. I always thought I'd want a big fancy wedding, but I'm not sure that I do."

"Well, we have plenty of time for wedding planning." He kissed Kurt again. "Let's get back to planning our grocery shopping trip so we have what we need for Sunday."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Well, I was pleasantly surprised that these were a lot less at Sam's Club than anywhere I had checked before we left," Sebastian said as he took the storage containers out of the box and loaded them into the dishwasher.

"I'm going to get started on the sheers, if that's okay." Kurt wrapped his arms around Sebastian from behind and kissed his neck.

"I'm going to run these through the dishwasher so I can use them to store the stuff I'm going to chop up for tomorrow. You sew and I'll chop."

Kurt brought the ironing board and iron upstairs into the dining room so that he could talk to Sebastian while he pinned the sheers. He took them up to hem them and brought them back down once they were all ready to hang. They installed the fasteners for the curtain rods. Sebastian hung each one while Kurt ironed the next one to hang.

After the sheers were all up and the blinds were all the way up, Kurt asked, "What do you think?"

"I like the effect. We can see out and get a lot of light in. I'm going to go outside and see if I can see in. You stay here so I can check if I can see you."

He went out and came back in. "Nope. At night, obviously people will be able to see through them. But as long as it's brighter outside that inside, people won't be able to see in, at least not well enough to see what we're doing."

"Perfect. Let's make the cake and brownies. I'll go sew the sheers for the upstairs windows while the stuff is in the oven."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

By the time they were ready to go to bed, they had gotten the food prepped and everything else washed, dried, put away, ironed, hung, dusted, swept, and spotless. They had showered and were lying in bed side by side.

"Can you relax now?" Sebastian asked him.

"I think so. I'm sorry."

Sebastian held his hand and interlaced their fingers. "You were stressed. It's okay. It's the first time they're all coming."

"Thank you for doing everything with me." Kurt rolled over on his side to face him.

"Of course. I know you just want it to be as nice as possible and for everyone to have a good time. I know you feel like you have something to prove to Dad. But if this place was still empty except for the things we brought with us, he wouldn't be disappointed in you. You know that, right?"

"I do." He took a deep breath and tried to relax. "I think it's proving it to myself more than to him. I love you and I want you to be happy and"

Sebastian interrupted him with a kiss to get him to stop fretting. "Kurt, _mon étoile_, it's okay. I AM happy with you. Even if we had to eat standing up and had to sleep in sleeping bags on the air mattress, I would still be happy with you."

"Will you just hold me?"

"Yes, of course."

Kurt scooted closer and laid his head on Sebastian's chest. Sebastian wrapped his arms around him and held him close. He started to sing to him in French, but when he finished, Kurt was still tense. He said, "_I love you. Your family loves you." _He kissed the top of his head. "Is there something that you haven't told me?"

"Finn and Rachel are coming. Dad texted me after dinner."

"I see. So, the mad house cleaning, dusting every speck away, and straightening everything isn't because of Dad. It's because you think Rachel's going to criticize everything about your life?"

"In a way."

"I'm beginning to think that she and Finn were bigger bullies than the jackasses who tossed you in dumpsters. Emotional bullies. They played on your emotions, drawing you in and then pushing you away over and over again. With the jackasses, you knew what to expect. They didn't like you and they showed their disapproval loudly and repeatedly. No misinterpretation possible. But the two of them and who knows who else – it was 'Oh, we're friends. Help me with this.' And they'd draw you closer and make you feel like they were your friends and then stab you in the back or just leave you standing on your own when you needed help. Frenemies."

"They have their own issues and their own problems. I tried to be there for them like a good friend would be."

"I get that. I'm not blaming you. And I'm not putting you on some pedestal saying that every decision you made was perfect, but I don't think you would have ever done what Rachel did to you. I cannot envision any situation in which you would push her down and stand on her back to get higher up the ladder."

"I thought I had managed to let a lot of it go. I think all I did was just put it out of my mind because I haven't had to interact with her in so long. It's been what, almost two months since I've had to deal with her? I saw Finn two and a half weeks ago and that wasn't horrible, but we still have a ways to go. Now, they're both coming here, into our home, into our space. I don't want to be petty and say they can't come. They are family."

"But you don't want the aggravated looks from Finn about how you have a nice house and he doesn't. And you don't want Rachel's pettiness and her condescending attitude about how she's going to be living the high life in New York City while you're living in Cincinnati."

"Pretty much. You're the one who figured her out long before I did."

"That's because I was on the outside looking in. I wasn't the one having friendship dangled in front of me like a carrot. It's like those chalk sidewalk drawings. It's a matter of perspective. When you stand and look at them from the right viewing angle, they look completely normal, but when you stand anywhere else, it's really obvious how lopsided the drawing actually is."

"Yeah. I just I feel like I'm trapped. If I call and tell Dad not to bring Finn and Rachel, Mom's feelings will be hurt. And she's never done anything mean to me. But if I let them come, I set myself up for being hurt. This is OUR home. I shouldn't have to let people into my space who hurt me."

"You're right. Will you let me defend you? I've never overstepped and usurped any of your rights to defend yourself as you've seen fit, but I will gladly take both of them aside individually and speak up on your behalf. I want them both to see that you're not alone now. I want them to see that I love you enough to keep them from hurting you anymore. But I won't take that step and override your personal choices. I love you too much to take away your autonomy."

"Let me think about it."

"That's reasonable. Is this how you want to sleep?"

"Yes."

"Then look up, so I can kiss you goodnight."

Kurt tipped his head up and met Sebastian's lips with his own. He put his head back down on Sebastian's shoulder and Sebastian pulled him close.

"_I love you. Thank you."_

"_I love you too. Always."_

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt's mood improved dramatically the next morning when he saw the text from Carole that he had gotten after they had fallen asleep that said that Finn and Rachel would not be coming because Rachel was feeling a little under the weather.

He rolled over and kissed Sebastian awake and shared the good news with him.

He listened, but didn't open his eyes. "Excellent. More kisses?"

Kurt teased him by giving him the lightest chaste kiss and pulling back.

Sebastian pouted.

Kurt couldn't resist and pressed closer and gave Sebastian the kisses he wanted. "Better?"

"Almost."

Kurt tickled him. "I'll show you almost." He moved and pinned Sebastian to the bed and started to lick-tickle-kiss him up his sides.

Sebastian tried to flip them, but his feet got tangled in the sheets and he didn't manage to do anything besides end up flat on his back with Kurt pinning him more effectively. Kurt repositioned himself and extended his legs and lay down on top of Sebastian.

"Mmm. Now, that's much better." Sebastian wrapped one hand behind Kurt's neck and the other across the center of his back and pulled him down and resumed the kissing.

"We have people coming," Kurt insisted.

"Mmm hmm. We'll be coming first."

"Bas!" Kurt tickled him.

"What? That's not what you had in mind? I'm pretty sure it is." He rolled his hips up and continued kissing Kurt.

Kurt moaned and said, "We'll need another shower."

"Another round in he shower too? You are full of good ideas this morning."

"Bas…"

"Yes, _mon étoile_?" He deepened the kiss rather than giving Kurt the chance to say anything else.

Kurt lost his will to tease him anymore, caught up in the joy of being together.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A few hours later, the doorbell rang and Sebastian went out to the door into the foyer and opened the door to let the first of their guests in. Burt, Carole, Noah, and Sarah stepped inside. Sarah hugged Sebastian and took off and made it through second door and into the house before everyone else.

"Sarah!"

"Kurt!" She took off running towards him and hugged him and stepped back and looked around. "I like the furniture. It looks a lot nicer not empty."

"Thank you. Come on, I'll give you the tour."

"I don't need a tour. I've been here before. I'm just going to go look myself." She headed up the stairs. "Come on, Noah. I'll give YOU a tour."

Noah laughed at her and headed toward the stairs. Kurt followed them up. Sarah was in their room when he got up to the hallway.

"It's sort of like your room. You have your bed and dresser and vanity. The other stuff must be in the other room." She took off for the study.

Kurt and Noah followed her.

"Is that the bed?" She pointed.

"It is. Do you want me to show you how it works?"

"Yes!"

"Let me move my new sewing table. Now, I'll be able to sew without having to take my schoolwork off my desk." Noah helped him move it away from where it sat in front the bed.

He undid the latch and let the bed down and then pushed it back up. He and Noah put the table back in front of it.

"That's really cool. It's a secret bed. I like it. I like all the furniture. It looks really pretty."

"Thank you."

She ran off to go back downstairs.

Noah looked around more. He went back and looked in their bedroom. "I had to do a double-take on those side tables. They look good now."

"Thanks for letting us have them. The electric sander and a couple of coats of varnish and sealer and they look brand new, like you. I like the new do and the new clothes."

He laughed. "Yeah, I started letting the sides grow out after graduation and kept the top the same length. I went to a barber and got it styled last week. I bought some clothes at Goodwill for school. I'm working toward a new look – something that still feels like me though."

Kurt smiled and nodded. "Well, it's a good look. It's still you, but a little more refined."

Noah laughed at him. "The Kurt Hummel seal of approval. Who'd a thunk."

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"You did a good job on your place. I'm glad for you." Noah pulled him into a hug. "I can never thank you enough for what you did. Sarah's really just… She's happy all the time now. It's still a little hard for me, but I'm working hard in school. And I got the job Finn had, so I can pay for my own stuff again. We're going to be okay. She loves Burt and Carole. I've gotten used to living with them, not that they're hard to live with, but I'm just not used to anyone caring. It took a while to stop feeling defensive when they'd ask me questions. I had to learn that adults who care actually want to hear your answers – they're not just trying to control you or make you feel bad somehow."

"Puck is nearly gone and Noah is back."

"Yeah. That's pretty much the truth of it."

"Well, I like Noah a lot. He loves his sister enough to change his whole life. He's definitely still a badass, mohawk or not."

"You know it."

Carole and Burt stepped onto the landing and came around the corner.

"Now, that's something I can say for certain I didn't expect to see when I got up here," Burt laughed. "The two of you hugging."

"Well, I may have to reconsider my previous stance on believing in miracles," Kurt teased as he let go of Noah.

"We came up to look around," Carole said.

"Sure."

Noah went back downstairs. Kurt followed Burt and Carole into the study.

"It's really lovely, Kurt. I like the way the Murphy bed turned out. It gives you a lot more flexibility with this room, even though it's small."

"We like it too. It's been slept in it a few times already, so it does its job."

"The place looks great, Kurt." Burt pulled him into a hug. "Really great."

"Bringing our couch from the old house really helped. Getting one ourselves would have eaten into our budget and we wouldn't have been able to get a lot of the other stuff."

They followed him into the bedroom.

"This looks cozy. That painting Sam did is amazing. I like that you've been able to separate where you relax and sleep from where you work. You can't do that very easily in a dorm."

"I like that we can have the two areas and I love the painting too. I finally found a frame that looks good. Come on down to the basement and I'll show you the finished stairway."

As they walked through the living room, Carole said, "Sebastian, can you and Noah run out to my car and start bringing the stuff from the trunk in, please?"

"Sure."

"Ooh, I like that tablecloth Kurt," Carole said. "It goes with the pillows in the other room. And the cabinet looks better white."

"Thanks." He opened the basement door and they all went down the stairs.

"This is so much better," Carole said. "Tom did a good job." She walked around the back to see the closet and the shelving to see what Kurt and Sebastian had done with the storage. "You guys did a great job with this."

"It looks great, kiddo. I like how you added the shelves under the short part. And the closet idea worked out great."

"It did. Now, we can keep the off-season stuff in here and then just switch or just come down here if we need something."

"The cedar will keep the bugs out," Burt said. "It's just what you needed. That space up there is perfect for storing your cooler. Easy to get to, but completely out of the way."

"We'll keep the camping chairs up there too when we aren't using them."

She walked around to the other side. "I like how this side has been decorated. The fleur-de-lis pattern looks nice. What does it say?"

"It says – 'L'amour avant tout', which means 'Love above all.' It was Sebastian's idea to do something creative with the blank space. I really like it."

She smiled and nodded.

They headed back upstairs. They had put the three barstools they had brought in from the car up to the counter, and Sam came in with them, carrying more stuff from Carole's car.

Dwight, Mary, Stacey, and Stevie came in just a couple of minutes later. The two girls squealed when they saw each other and Sarah took Stacey upstairs to play Barbies. Noah sat down with Stevie and loaded up Mario Kart and played.

Dwight and Burt sat at the table talking while Sam, Kurt, Sebastian, Mary, and Carole worked to get everything set up to eat.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt seated the three kids at the counter. Everyone else sat around the tables to eat. They talked about the upcoming school year and the classes they would be taking. Noah talked about classes he had already started taking. Carole talked about her new job. Dwight told everyone about his new job as well.

After everyone finished eating, Kurt started working to put the leftovers away. Sebastian offered to take the three kids out back to play croquet. Sam and Noah followed him.

"Mom can give either or both of you a tour or you're free to look around yourselves if you'd like. There's nothing to see downstairs, other than concrete walls, a closet, and a washer and dryer. But you're free to go upstairs if you'd like. The bathroom is at the top of the stairs, if you need it."

Mary and Dwight went upstairs and looked around, came back down, and then headed out into the backyard with the kids.

Burt was still sitting at the table.

"Our four camping chairs are out there if you want a place to sit. When they're done with the croquet game, we can load everyone up and head down to the park along the riverfront and kids can play on the playground there. Or we can hang around here."

Burt nodded and went out back.

Carole stayed inside to help Kurt. "Even though your kitchen's not large, it's roomy. There's a lot of storage."

"It's mostly empty right now. My Christmas list grows every time I think of things to make."

"You should send me the list. I'll watch out for things you want on sale and then use a coupon or I can pick stuff up at yard sales this summer if I see stuff on your list."

"Cookie sheets are first on my list. I had to nix my snickerdoodle idea for today because I didn't remember to bring some cookie sheets with me when we left Thursday and I don't have any cookie sheets. I also had to make a single-layer cake because I don't have any cake pans. I'm just so used to having everything at my fingertips. It took me years to build up all of those things."

"You know that I don't bake anywhere near the way you do. And you're the one who had gotten a lot of that stuff before I ever even came along. This week, we'll go through everything and you can bring back anything that was in your kitchen before we got the new house. I didn't toss my stuff when we moved in. Everything I had and used is still there."

"Really? That would be amazing." Kurt hugged her with a huge smile on his face.

"It's a date, then," she laughed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Carole and Kurt went out back when they finished.

"Finally!" Sam called out.

Kurt looked confused.

"Bas, come down here with Kurt, and close your eyes."

Everyone quit playing and moved down to the edge of the patio. Sam got Noah to help him and Dwight. They went out the side gate and about five minutes later they came back. They put what they were carrying on the patio and stepped away from it.

"Open your eyes!"

"Oh, wow! A picnic table! It's perfect," Kurt said.

"Thank you!" Sebastian said.

Stevie spoke up, "It's not just ANY picnic table. Watch!"

He and Sam moved a couple of pieces and the top of the table flipped up and became the back creating bench seating.

Stacey said, "We all helped build it and stain it to make it good to leave outside. Now you have some place to sit and a picnic table when you want one."

"We weren't expecting a gift, but this is really perfect. Thank you," Kurt said.

They flipped the other half back and moved it so the benches were sitting near the house. Everyone had room to sit down. The kids and Noah, Sebastian, and Sam went back to their croquet game.

Once they finished, they set up horseshoes and badminton instead.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After an enjoyable afternoon, Burt and Carole headed off for the airport in Cincinnati for Burt to fly back to DC for the week. Dwight and Mary left when they did. Kurt and Sebastian thanked them for the picnic table again. Sam, Stevie, and Stacey stuck around for a while longer.

The three kids went back outside to play. The teens stayed inside and played Mario Kart for a while. Eventually the kids came back in claiming to be hungry and thirsty.

The teens warmed up the leftovers from lunch and served them with a second piece of cake since the brownies had been demolished earlier.

About 6:00, they said their goodbyes and headed their separate ways.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sebastian spent Monday evening reviewing the material he needed to know for his three ASE tests, while Kurt spent the evening with Carole going through the kitchen cabinets. Kurt ended up with two boxes of items that were his before the families had merged. He put them in the closet until they were heading back home.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Tuesday evening, Carole had to work and she asked Noah to take Sarah to the library at 7:00. She also told Kurt to expect a visitor at 7:30. At 7:30, the doorbell rang and Kurt opened the door to find Miss Pillsbury standing there. He let her in and she went in the living room and sat in the chair.

"I won't keep you long. It's been about two months since I last talked to you and I wanted to let you know a few things. First off, Principal Figgins will not be returning in the fall. His replacement is someone who has been an assistant principal at a large school for a number of years. The lack of appropriate leadership should be a thing of the past."

"That's good news."

"I also wanted you to know that Will denied the blackmail allegations when I confronted him, but I could tell from the look in his eyes that he had done just what Finn said he had. You were already aware that without any evidence that there would be nothing that could actually be done about it."

"I would suspect that he didn't actually have marijuana at school. I'm assuming he put something in a bag and told Finn that it was pot. Finn probably didn't even examine it. He was barely 16 at the time. I'm sure he just panicked and agreed to join Glee. It was nearly three years ago, so I'm not really sure what the point in pursuing anything would be at this point."

"I'm not sure either, Kurt. Plus, somehow you already knew that he was heading to New York."

"Yeah. I've never said anything to anyone else. I'm the only one who knows. I realize I said something to you that day, but I was 99% sure that you already knew."

"I did. How did you know?"

"Monday of finals week, I went out to get something out of my Navigator during lunch and I walked past him sitting in his car talking to April. I didn't catch much, but he was assuring her that he would be in New York for rehearsals the Monday after Graduation. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that things turned out the way they did for you."

"You didn't do anything."

"No, but I know what it's like for someone to turn out to not be who you thought he was."

She nodded.

"If you're interested, my parents know a good marriage counselor."

"That won't be necessary, but thank you for the offer. As far as I know, Will has no intention of moving back to Lima. But on a personal note, Shannon took over Will's part of the lease, so at least I wasn't left in a lurch. She and I have a lot more in common than I would have originally expected. We've already gotten a new place lined up for the two of us next month. I didn't really want to renew the lease and stay, for fairly obvious reasons."

Kurt nodded. "That's good that you found a new place and a roommate that you get along with. Teachers don't make nearly enough money and housing is expensive. Since you're certain that Mr. Schue isn't returning, is the school hiring a music teacher?"

"We've hired a music teacher and a history teacher. The band director retired, so that gave us a little more leeway with the hiring."

"So, Glee will be a class this fall?"

"It will, but we're still going to implement a council. And the council will meet with the teacher to decide competition pieces and soloists will be chosen by the group."

"It sounds like things are looking up."

"They are. We've already held some of the teacher training days and they've gone well. I just wanted you to know I didn't drop the ball. I've also already started planning for a two-week college and career spring seminar to be written into the American History course curriculum for juniors. The history syllabus is being written to accommodate for it. I've also informed the teachers that they will be required to provide students with a one-month syllabus at the beginning of each month. I'm working toward getting the students ready for college like you had mentioned they do at Dalton. It will take time."

"You've been impressively busy. The students are going to be getting a much better school to return to."

"I hope so. I also petitioned to have the dumpsters from the student parking lot removed. The ones behind the cafeteria now have a fence around them with scanner locks that will open easily for the cafeteria workers because their badges will have codes on them. Only a few other staff members will be able to open the gate, like the janitors."

"That's perfect."

"Shannon is actually outside. If you would be willing to let her come in, she'd like to talk to you." She stood up.

"Sure, but before you go I want to thank you for listening to me and for being willing to own up to your mistakes and try to learn from them. And for doing what you have to make the school better."

She smiled and nodded. "You're welcome. I'm looking forward to working in a better environment." She started to walk toward the door. "I wish you the best at UC this fall."

"Thank you. Please tell Coach Beiste that it's fine for her to come in."

She let herself out. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Kurt opened it and let Coach Beiste in. He ushered her into the living room. She took a seat in the chair that Miss Pillsbury had just vacated.

"I wanted to come and apologize to you. Emma and I have done a lot of talking and I realized how inappropriate my behavior was during the play last fall. I've been on the other end of the very type of bullying I did. There are no excuses and I apologize. She told me that you got into a top-notch program."

"I did."

"Good for you. Again, I'm really sorry, Kurt. I'm going to do better."

"Thanks. That's all we can do. Learn from our mistakes and try not to make the same ones."

She nodded. "Wise words." She got up.

Kurt stood up and showed her out.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian headed back to Cincinnati Thursday at noon. Kurt had worked on their menu while Sebastian was studying the previous evening. They stopped at Sam's Club on their way home.

They carried everything into the kitchen. Kurt carried the boxes of kitchen items in and sat them on the counter. They put the food away first. He surprised Sebastian when he opened them and emptied out his favorite baking equipment. He put the stand mixer on the countertop, and he rinsed everything off and Sebastian dried it. They found a place for everything. Kurt smiled the whole time.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

When Sebastian came in the door late the next afternoon, he was greeted by a hug and quite a few kisses.

"Mmm. What was that for?"

"Just to welcome you home. I missed you."

"Well, I love coming home to hugs and kisses. And it smells fantastic in here. What have you been up to?"

"Who me?" Kurt feigned innocence and batted his eyes.

"Yes, you." He wrapped his arms back around Kurt and resumed the kissing. "Why does it smell so good in here?"

"Because I made lasagna and a pie."

"Is there some special occasion I don't know about? I don't know of any American holidays near the end of July."

"It's a celebration dinner."

"What are we celebrating?"

"You passing those tests."

"How do you know I passed?"

"Because you did." He kissed Sebastian again.

"You're right. I did. Let's eat."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

As Kurt and Sebastian opened the front door the next Monday evening when they got back from the shop, they could hear loud voices coming from the dining room. They stepped to the right after they shut the door. There sat an unknown middle-aged man at the dining room table with Hiram and Noah.

Noah saw them start to step into the room.

So, did Hiram, who said, "Hey sweetheart, daddy isn't home from work yet. Just go on upstairs. We'll have dinner after he gets home."

Kurt and Sebastian stepped back before the man could turn to look at them. Noah could still see them from where he was sitting.

Kurt nodded that he understood what was going on. He and Sebastian stayed in the foyer.

"I want to see my daughter."

"I told you no a hundred times it seems. I'm not going to let you see her."

"She's my kid."

"Like hell she is," Noah said defiantly. "She couldn't pick you out of a line up. You've never paid a penny of child support. You're not going to see her. You're going to sign that form or I'm calling the cops and having you arrested for abandonment. You owe 8 years of child support on both of us. Sign the damn form and walk away. That's what you're good at anyway."

"I want to see her."

"Not happening. You followed me to school and asked ME for money. No fucking way am I letting her see you. She has a real family now and you're not going to take that away from her. Sign the form."

"No."

Noah pulled out his phone. Mr. Puckerman began to move.

"Hiram, can you give us five minutes?"

Hiram got up and went out the front door.

"Sign the form and I'll give you the money you asked for or don't sign it and go to jail. Either way, your rights will be terminated. Do it the easy way."

"Show me the cash."

"You asked me for $500. What do I look like? A walking bank? I don't have $500 in cash on me. Sign the form and I'll stop by the ATM on the way to taking you back to your motorcycle and you can walk away."

Mr. Puckerman reached for the pen.

"Wait until the lawyer comes back."

Hiram came back inside a few minutes later. Mr. Puckerman picked up the pen and signed the form. Hiram took it and notarized it.

"I want him to sign a second agreement. I want him to agree to never contact me or Sarah ever and to stay away from us."

Hiram wrote out another agreement.

"Sign it."

"Fine." He picked up the pen and signed the second agreement.

Noah signed as a witness and Hiram signed and notarized it.

"Wait here while I photocopy these and give you a copy," Hiram said. He went to Burt's office and used the copier.

While he was out of the room, Noah spoke very quietly, "Don't say a word about the cash to anyone, ever. This is a one-time deal. NEVER come back here. If I ever see or hear that you're back in Lima again, you'll regret it. Do you have any idea where Ma is?"

"Haven't spoken to her in 8 years."

"Fine. When we leave, I'll take you back to your motorcycle and give you the cash. That paper you just signed says that you are voluntarily agreeing to never contact me or Sarah again, that you'll never come back to Lima or get within 100 feet of us. If you break your agreement, I will call the police immediately upon seeing you."

Sebastian and Kurt walked around to the kitchen when they saw Hiram come out of the office. Hiram kept the original and a copy of each for himself and handed Noah and Mr. Puckerman copies as well. He went back into the office, allowing the two of them to leave.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Hiram came out of the office after they left.

"Sorry to hijack your house. Noah called me in a panic and wanted me to meet him here like this was my place. I think he wanted his father to think that this is my place, so he would never consider coming back here. Noah won't have to deal with him anymore. I already called the police. They'll pick Mr. Puckerman up as soon as Noah drops him off. Getting him to sign the form will just speed up the process. I already called Carole to let her know that she can bring Sarah back."

"Thanks for helping Noah. I know that terminating Mr. Puckerman's rights is part of the process so my parents can adopt Sarah."

"We already have a court date next Monday to terminate their rights, but him showing up and signing the form will just solve that part immediately. I'm going to head home. Carole and Sarah should be here soon. I'll let myself out."

Kurt and Sebastian started dinner and had it nearly ready by the time Carole and Sarah returned. The four of them sat down to eat together like nothing had happened.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian waited in the living room, snuggled up on the couch reading a book. They both startled when the front door opened.

"Noah?" Kurt called out. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He plopped in the oversized chair. "I drove him to where he had left his motorcycle. Before he even got the truck door open, four cops surrounded the truck, calling for me and him to get out of the truck. One stayed on my side and the other three stood triangulating on him. He put his hands up and they arrested him. It turns out that someone recognized him saw earlier today. The police swept the general area until they found his motorcycle and just waited."

Noah sat quietly for a few minutes before continuing.

"Ma never told me that she had gotten a restraining order against him that protected all three of us from him coming near us again. He fled when he was out on bail from beating Ma up. He kept saying that he didn't know anything about any restraining order. I don't know anything about him going to court for beating up Ma. I didn't even know he had been arrested for beating her up. I was just a kid back then. There were other warrants out on him. He's headed to state prison from what it sounded like to me. It doesn't matter. He signed that paper giving Sarah up, which will speed up the process of the adoption. I had sort of been on the fence about the adoption, but after he showed up today, I am 100% behind it now. I don't want Ma to be able to show up a year or two from now and be able to contest the guardianship. If her rights are terminated by the judge and Burt and Carole adopt her, neither of my parents will ever be able to get her back."

"I don't know what to say," Kurt said.

"There's nothing really to say."

"I know you're not used to people worrying about you, but I'm glad you're not hurt. I've been worried for nearly two hours."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're alright. I put a plate of food for you in the refrigerator."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kurt and Sebastian went upstairs.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A week later on the first Monday in August, Burt stayed in Lima to attend the hearing. Mrs. Puckerman had been gone for 7 months and Mr. Puckerman had signed the paper to give up his parental rights and was in jail.

Based on the evidence provided, Mrs. Puckerman was declared an unfit parent due to abandonment and her parental rights were involuntarily terminated. The judge entered Mr. Puckman's signed voluntary termination agreement and made it official.

The judge also granted the request to change Sarah's last name that they had asked for and filed the paperwork for a month or so prior to the court date.

The Hummels could move forward with adopting Sarah. And Sarah could start school with her new last name like she had asked to do.

When Carole picked her up and brought her home from camp, Noah, Kurt, and Sebastian had a cake waiting for her with her name written in frosting – Sarah Abigail Hummel. Kurt and Sebastian got to witness the squealing that Noah had teased could be heard all the way to Tennessee.

They explained to her that the official adoption papers would take more time to get, but that she was a Hummel already.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

A week and a half later, Kurt and Sebastian were at Mercatolli's, an auto repair shop in Cincinnati not far from their house, interviewing with the owner, Mr. Mercatolli, who knew Burt from attending car shows and auctions.

"So, Burt told me you fixed up that Honda he got at the auction."

"I did. Sam's still driving it. He and Sebastian shared it during the school year."

"Sam's the other kid, sorry potential employee, that your dad mentioned, right?"

"Yes, Sam Evans. He's at work today."

"So, he's already got a job?"

"His last day is a week from Friday. Summer job in Kentucky."

"I see. So, let me tell you what I want and you can tell me if you think the three of you will fit with my vision."

"Alright."

"I need someone to do my books. I need someone to do minor stuff and some cleaning and to greet people when they come in. I need someone to do tires and oil changes. I need someone to work on the tough nuts that come in. I'm also looking to expand my hours. I get a lot of customers that call in asking if we're open any evenings and I turn away potential customers every time I say 'no'. So, I want to stay open two evenings a week. So, what I'm thinking is that the three of you can run the place for those evenings. So, I've got someone to stay until 6 that does the registers and stuff. But I'd need someone to do the customer service and the light cleaning and whatnot from 6-8. But I could have the two of you that would work on the books and harder jobs come in earlier and just stay until 8."

"So, Sam could work just four hours a week, from 6-8, and then Sebastian and I could work from let's say 3-8 those two days a week? Would Tuesday and Thursday work?"

"Yeah, and 3:00 would work. Jimmy's been saying he'd come in earlier and get started before the shop opens, if he could get off earlier so he wouldn't have to pay a babysitter for afterschool care. So, yeah. Jimmy could leave at 3:00. He'd like that. He's been staying till 5:00. That would save him two days a week of paying childcare. I'd also need Kurt to cover a few more hours another day of the week. It doesn't really matter what day. So, like three or four hours some other day."

"I can do Monday afternoons, I think."

"I can be flexible about the other four hours because it's for me to be off. I'm here like 50 hours a week and I'd like to have a few hours off during the week to get personal stuff done. I can't offer much more than minimum wage to your friend Sam to run the register and do the clean up. Here's what I can offer the two of you." He slid two slips of paper across the desk, one offering Kurt $22.50 an hour and the other offering $12.50 an hour to Sebastian.

Sebastian showed Kurt his slip.

"That would work for us," Kurt said. "Let me text Sam really quick just to be certain."

A couple of minutes later, Sam responded.

"So, yes. That would work for all of us."

"Perfect. So, you can start the week before classes you said, right?"

"Yes. We could work extra hours that week as well, if you have someone who wants the week off or a day off or something."

"I'll let you know."

"That's fine."

"So, here's what I need the two of you to sign. Sam will need to sign his sometime soon. I'll need to run background checks on all three of you just to be certain. There's a lot of money in tools, which I know you already know growing up in your dad's shop. But my insurance says I have to know you aren't criminals."

Kurt laughed. He and Sebastian signed the forms.

"I can take this one with me and get Sam to sign it this weekend and bring it back to you," Kurt offered.

"That's fine. I'd like to hang copies of your ASE Certifications behind the register, if you can bring those in, please."

They nodded.

"I'll need your driver's licenses and your social security cards. Copy Sam's for me too."

Kurt nodded. They handed them over and went through the rest of the administrative process before they headed back to the house.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The following week was their last week to work at Burt's shop. Burt had requested a final family dinner on Friday night before Kurt and Sebastian's departure to Cincinnati, so they had stayed in town as requested.

Noah went to pick Burt up so that Carole, Sarah, Sebastian, and Kurt could cook together. She had been enjoying her cooking lessons all summer and she was going to miss the two of them a lot.

Everything was on the stove or in the oven and there was nothing left to do but wait for everything to finish cooking and for everyone else to get there.

Carole said, "Sarah, sweetheart, why don't you run up and take your bath early while we wait for everyone to get here? That way you can just go to bed after the movie later."

"Okay. Should I put my pajamas on or put clothes back on?"

"Your pajamas will be fine."

She ran off to go upstairs.

Carole started talking as soon as Sarah was out of earshot. "Rachel and Finn are moving to New Jersey – Jersey City. Finn has to work to pay the utilities and for his own food. At least, he won't have to work 60 hours a week. If they call it quits and he and comes home, he still has to continue to pay the utilities until the lease is up because that's their agreement."

"That seems reasonable, but I thought he was going to Lima Community College."

"So did I, but he's changed his mind again. He says he's going to give New York, well New Jersey, a chance."

"Alright then. His life, his choice." Kurt changed the topic and they started talking about their new jobs.

Carole was thrilled that she had gotten on at a clinic and she was splitting her work week 3/2 with another nurse. So, she'd work three full days each week 12-hour shifts, and the other nurse would work two full days. And they would alternate.

"I'm going to be able to work Monday-Wednesday one week and be off until the following Wednesday, leaving me 6 days off in a row twice a month. And I'll be home by 7:00 on the days I work and no more weekends. I start next week."

"That's great. It's perfect," Sebastian said.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Finn and Rachel showed up at 7:00. Noah and Burt arrived just a few minutes later.

The table had already been set, so everyone washed up and sat down to eat. They had made each person's favorite dish, so the meal as a whole looked quite disjointed, but no one minded. They passed the bowls and platters around until everyone had what they wanted.

Rachel was the first to speak. "Finn and I got a studio apartment in Jersey City and I will be commuting to NYADA. My dads found the place."

"I wish you two the best," Kurt said.

"Thank you, Kurt. It's a 30-minute bus ride to NYADA. It's a small studio, but it's a decent layout. We can put a bed and a couch in it. It has a real kitchen. It's small, but it has a built-in island we can eat at, and a washer and dryer hookup." She continued to talk about New York and her plans throughout dinner.

Carole had spoken to Noah earlier telling him that she was giving Rachel a chance to say her peace before she and Finn left for New Jersey. Once they finished eating, Carole excused Sarah to go downstairs and eat her dessert while watching _The Lorax_, which she had chosen at the Redbox on the way home. No one wanted her to know about their issues. After Sarah had left the room, Rachel started to speak again.

"I have apologized to each of you personally, except Sebastian. So I want to apologize to you for listening to rumors about you and then spreading them. I didn't realize that they weren't true at the time, but it's on me for not verifying the information before telling other people."

"Alright."

"A lot of things have happened in the last four months and they pushed me toward self-reflection and introspection. I know you haven't forgiven me, Kurt. Maybe some day. But anyway, I am sorry, Sebastian."

"I still don't trust you," Sebastian said. "You're still friends with Blaine. That puts you on the untrustworthy list, but in the interest of family peace and harmony, I can be pleasant and keep my opinions to myself when they contradict yours, except if you're insulting Kurt, in which case I won't tolerate any disrespectful speech toward him whatsoever. You will have to earn the respect you want. Your past history proved you untrustworthy and unreliable as a friend. You'll have to prove through your words and actions that those things have changed about you."

"Yes, of course."

"So, the past is a closed topic. There will be no more public apologies because continuing to do so would indicate that you can get forgiveness by repeatedly apologizing, implying that the people withholding it from you are being unreasonable. Forgiveness is given freely, not earned. If and when Kurt decides to forgive you, that will a gift to you. Respect is earned, as I said. Prove you have changed through your actions and words, and don't keep asking for something that is not yours to request."

She nodded and then start to talk more about their move.

Once they had finished their dessert, Kurt, Sebastian, and Noah were dismissed. Rachel and Finn were asked to clear the table and do the dishes.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Afterwards, Finn went to Noah's room to play video games. Rachel came up to talk to Kurt and Sebastian, who were packing and getting ready to head home. She knocked and Kurt let her in.

"Did you remember some detail about New York that you forgot to tell us earlier?" Kurt asked.

She sat down in the chair in the corner, missing the sarcasm in his voice. "Um, no. I actually came to ask what it is that you consider to be behavior worthy of your respect. I don't actually know what it is that you expect me to do."

"Well, what you did during dinner and dessert wasn't it," Sebastian responded. "The seven of us aren't your adoring fans. Fans listen to what people say. They never interrupt and talk about their own lives because a person with fans is too important to listen to what those fans have to say. The seven us are human beings with our own lives."

Kurt added, "You didn't take a break from talking about NYADA or New York to ask Dad or Mom about their week. You didn't ask how your schedule compares to mine to see how similar the programs might be. You didn't say a word to Noah or Sarah. You didn't include Finn in the conversation about your move at all."

"You're right."

Sebastian said, "I think you have this notion that quiet is bad – that you have to fill every tiny bit of time with talking, which just isn't true. Listen to the words other people speak and listen to the silence."

"How can you listen to silence?"

"By paying attention when people don't ask you to elaborate on a topic you bring up. For example, let's say that you start monologuing about some Broadway show you want to see. When you stop talking, if there is just silence and no one continues to talk about what you were talking about – the silence most likely means no one wants to talk about what you're talking about. It doesn't mean that you should go on talking about it. That's listening to the silence."

"Oh. I guess I've always taken the silence as the person not wanting to interrupt me and I should continue with what I was talking about."

"Adults tend to do that with children. When we play with Sarah and Stacey, we just let them talk. We don't really interrupt them. We just listen to them talk even if we have no interest in the topic and we answer their questions. But that's with little kids. As they get older, adults begin to converse with them and talk about things besides the kid's pet topic," Kurt said.

Rachel just sat there for a few minutes before she said anything. "I have a lot to think about." She got up and walked toward the door. "I hope you both like going to school in Cincinnati."

"Thanks," Kurt said.

They looked around the room to make sure they hadn't left anything behind. They stopped by Sarah's room and gave her hugs, and told Noah and Finn they were leaving. They went downstairs and gave Carole and Burt hugs and headed to Cincinnati to stay.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got home a little after 11:00, brought their stuff in, and headed straight to the shower. An hour later, they were kissing softly and holding each other.

"We've gotten a lot better at that in just a month, think about how good we'll be in a year," Sebastian teased.

"Mmm hmm," Kurt mumbled in agreement without stopping the kisses he was placing along Sebastian's jaw. "I love you." He ran his hand along Sebastian's arm.

"I love you too. We're here to stay. It's strange, but absolutely perfect. We start our new jobs next week and classes a week from Monday." He moved enough to gently kiss Kurt on the lips before he rolled back onto his back.

Kurt repositioned himself and wrapped himself around Sebastian, using him as a body pillow. Sebastian reached for Kurt's hand and interlaced their fingers, pulled their hands against his heart. He wrapped his other arm around Kurt, pulled him close, and they fell asleep.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sam spent the day with them on Saturday. The box of textbooks they ordered online came. They separated them out and double-checked they had gotten what they ordered. Afterwards, they went to campus to go to the university bookstore to buy what they hadn't been able to find online for less.

They walked around campus with their schedules, making sure they knew where all of their classes would be the next week. After that, they went to the bookstore and bought what they still needed. They figured they could get the best used copies since they were shopping a week ahead of the other freshman who wouldn't be moving in until the following weekend. They took everything back home and headed out to meet Matt, Trevor, Kylie and a few other people at the skate park.

They worked a few hours Monday and again Tuesday. Mr. Mercatolli, who insisted on being called "Lee," stayed Tuesday and Thursday evening to make sure that everything went smoothly the first two evenings the shop was open.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The Sunday night before their classes started, they were lying in bed, snuggled up talking.

"I'm glad we had the cookout this afternoon. That was fun. Kylie's roommate Jenna seems nice. She's a secondary music education major too," Kurt said. "She looks so familiar, but I don't know how I would have ever met her."

"I think you were in the kitchen when Kylie said that they met at band camp summer before freshman year in high school when they were they were randomly assigned as roommates. They went back to the same camp every year, asked to be roommates, and have been friends ever since."

"At least they know they'll get along as roommates. I know this sounds weird because Finn is already married to Rachel, but I could totally see him with Kylie. She's so laid back and funny. She wouldn't talk over him and she would totally throw a football around with him or play basketball for fun."

"I could see them hitting it off, too."

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

"I'm nervous about tomorrow."

"I know. But try to believe in yourself. I know you still hear the voices in your head telling you that you aren't good enough. But you are." Sebastian kissed him and ran his hands through Kurt's hair. "You're fabulous. You can do this."

"You're classes will be hard in a different way. You can be the worst student or the best student and no one sitting in the classroom with you will know unless you tell them."

"Just focus and do your best. Even if everyone else is better, the point is to improve your skills."

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right. I'm starting in the beginning level of dance. I won't be in a room full of people who have had serious dance training their whole lives. I'll need to go shopping Monday or Tuesday evening, once I have a list of exactly what shoes and dancewear I'll need."

"Mmm." Sebastian half smirked, half smiled.

"What's that look for?"

"Thinking about sitting downstairs watching you practice for your dance classes. I think you should practice in your dance belt."

"Of course." Kurt thought for a second and gave him the fake evil eye. "You mean ONLY my dance belt."

"Exactly." He winked.

"Somehow I think that will lead to less dance practice and more other activities."

"I like those other activities." He wiggled his eyebrows teasing Kurt.

"We'll see." Kurt kissed him. He turned over to turn the lamp off. "We need to sleep."

"Can I sleep on you?"

Kurt got comfortable on his back and moved his arm so Sebastian could snuggle up.

"I still remember waking up the morning after you asked me to be your boyfriend. I was snuggled up to you like this."

Kurt kissed him on the top of the head. "Mmm hmm."

Sebastian tipped his head back and kissed Kurt on the lips. "This has been the worst year and the best year, but the worst parts pushed all of the bad things out of my life permanently. And all of the best parts will be going with me into my future. I'm not expecting everything to be perfect from now on, but we're together and we'll face whatever happens together. I love you."

"I love you too, so very much."

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

They got up the next morning and ate breakfast together and took the bus to campus. They met up with Sam and sat together in their English class. They met up for a late lunch at 2:00. They sat outside and enjoyed the sun.

"I love it here!" was the first thing out of Kurt's mouth when they sat down.

Sebastian smiled and waited.

"So spill…" Sam prompted.

"I love my dance classes. And the freshman vocal music course seems like it's going to be amazing. And Kylie and Jenna are in my class. I figured out where I recognized Jenna from. She was the lead singer from the Top Notes from Regionals. She's really good. Did you two like your other class this morning?"

"It was fine," Sam said. "At least my math teacher is a native speaker of English and she passed out a syllabus detailing when our quizzes and tests will be, so no surprises. And we don't have to turn our homework in. She gives out answer sheets the next class, so we can go over our work on our own to see whether we did it right or not. She said she holds office hours if we need help and she has a TA with office hours as well. It doesn't seem too bad."

"My second class was the history of Wall Street."

Sam tried to sound enthusiastic. "Does it seem like it will be interesting?"

"I think so. I like history, so it shouldn't be awful. And I need to know the information, so at least it's not endless useless facts. Most of my classes will be utilitarian rather than historical, so in the grand scheme of things, it's not too bad."

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow because that's when my first art class meets."

They talked more and finished eating and headed their separate ways again.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Friday evening, Santana, Brittany, Jeff, Nick, Sam, and Matt showed up for their "We-made-it-through-our-first-week-of-college" get-together. Sam and Matt had attended their "Back-to-school" cookout the Sunday before, but they hadn't seen the other four in over a month. Obviously it wasn't Matt's first week of college, but he came anyway. They got pizzas and just hung out. They talked about their classes and watched a couple of movies.

Sam and Matt took the air mattress, which they put in the dining room. The girls took the study and Nick and Jeff slept on the futon.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

The next morning, they ate yogurt and muffins that Kurt and Sebastian had made ahead of time before they went to the zoo. None of them had been there before and they had a blast. They talked about trying to get together once a month since they had all had so much fun. Nick and Jeff headed back to Columbus afterwards, and Santana and Britt went back to Louisville.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

After they got back from the zoo, Kurt and Sebastian looked through their syllabi and decided to create a single calendar adding everything from all of their courses. Kurt's entries were blue and Sebastian's were green. They added holidays in red and their work schedule's in turquoise.

"I think we need to add in time just for the two of us and make it part of the schedule. I don't want to agree to something with someone else during the only time you're available. I don't want to get so busy that we lose each other."

Sebastian leaned over and kissed his cheek. Kurt turned and kissed him on the lips.

"I mean it, Bas. I want to set aside time for us. I know that it's inevitable that one of us will have to cancel for something that is mandatory at some point, but that's different than just casual meet-ups to go over class notes or go over a dance routine."

"I agree. Once we get all of this stuff put in, we'll see where there are spaces that we both have." He kissed Kurt again. "How about I'll start with September and you start with October and we'll switch. Let's go upstairs and sit at our desks though. It will be a lot more comfortable. After we finish those two months, we can move on to November and December."

They took a break for dinner and went back to working on their first semester calendar. Once they had it finished, they showered and got in bed.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) (p)(d) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Sunday morning, Kurt woke up before Sebastian and stayed still so he could still sleep. Once he started to stir, Kurt started kissing him on the back of the neck.

"Mmm. I love being kissed awake."

"I love kissing you awake." Kurt took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. "We did it. We're in college. We made it through the first week. I love it here."

"Me too."

"Did you actually like your classes?"

"They're fine."

"Is 'fine' good enough? Do you want to change your major? You can still drop your classes and choose different ones."

"I don't want to change my classes. I want to study finance. It's just never going to be something exciting like you dancing or singing. It's a means to an end that I want. I want to get a good job and be financially stable on my own."

"And I get that. I really do, but I don't want you to be miserable doing it."

"I am happy. Please believe me."

"That's all I wanted to know. I believe you. I'm happy too. I just didn't want you to continue with finance if it didn't interest you."

"I will tell you if I ever change my mind."

"Fair enough."

Sebastian pulled Kurt's hand that was interlaced with his already up to his mouth and kissed his ring finger. "My life is so much better than I had ever dreamed. Just because my classes don't make me jump up and down with excitement doesn't mean that I dislike them. I'll learn a lot. I'll use what I learn to get a job and I'll never have to wonder whether I can buy a pencil ever again. That's where I was a year ago. Wondering how I could get some paper and at least one pencil without stealing them. Now, I get to come home to you every night. I get to come home to our home, where I'm loved. I get to read with you, watch movies with you, cook with you, snuggle with you, and kiss you. We can have our friends over and have fun. "

"Oh, Bas, that's all over. You have all of your documents now and you can work."

"I know it's over, but when you grow up so close to the edge all the time, a few months of things being different doesn't make that feeling go away."

"I know."

"Enough dredging up bad memories. We have lots of good ones to think about instead. I just don't want you to constantly think that I am unhappy because I'm not joyous about my coursework. It's school. I'm good at school. I'll learn the material and use it to make a good career for myself. And you'll study what you love and attempt to make a career of it for yourself. And if that doesn't work out, you can always be a mechanic. You don't hate fixing cars. It's a job. You do it well and you go home to live your life. That's what I want. I want a job that I do that makes good money and I can leave at the office. I want to come home to you and my life with you."

Kurt kissed the back of his neck. Sebastian shifted and Kurt scooted back giving him room to turn over. He lay on his side facing Kurt.

"I already have what I've always wanted – love and a real family. Now, I just need the job. I just want to be able to provide for us, just like you do. We'll both work and we'll be smart about it and save and plan. Then if there's an economic downturn and we both end up working on cars again or one of us ends up unable to work or to find work, we'll make it financially. I love you and I really like this house. It's perfect for us. It's not large and ostentatious, but it's not so tiny that we feel cramped. We have room to have people over. I have more than I had ever let myself wish for." He scooted forward and kissed Kurt on the forehead.

"Me too. Are you ready to get up?"

"Nope. I haven't had nearly enough kisses or snuggles yet."

"I see. I can remedy that. One super-size snuggle with extra kisses coming right up."


	34. Epilogue

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Epilogue ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

( ) ( ) Fall 2012 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian did well in their classes. Their dance studio got a lot of use because Kurt had to take ballet, jazz, and pilates his first year. He showed Sebastian what he learned and they practiced together which inevitably ended up with them slow dancing and make-out sessions or lots of kissing.

Kurt auditioned for the fall musical and got a part in the chorus, which he was excited about because it gave him the opportunity to learn about how staging a real production worked. Sebastian found his coursework to be challenging, but not overly so. They were both able to keep up with their schoolwork, their jobs, and still had some time left over to spend with friends. They set aside time for each other just like they set out to do.

Kurt made a lot of friends quickly in his department. Matt and Sam were regular fixtures in their home, along with Trevor, Kylie, Jenna, and a larger group of friends who they weren't as close to. They visited Lima a few weekends during the semester and Noah brought Sarah and stayed with them a few weekends as well.

The chemistry between Noah and Jenna could be felt by anyone within 10 feet of them the first time they met. They started off dating casually because Noah was leery of letting anyone close to him with everything that was going on. He started driving down to Cincinnati on Sundays to spend time with her. Sometimes he brought Sarah and dropped her off at Kurt and Sebastian's before he went to pick Jenna up.

Matt and Sam started officially dating in early October.

After Burt and Carole had filed to adopt Sarah, Noah went to Hiram and spoke with him about changing his last name, but learned that it was actually quite easy to adopt an adult and in the long run it would make it easier for him to get custody of Sarah if something happened to Burt and Carole before Sarah turned 18. After a lot of deliberation on his part, he talked to Kurt and Finn. Finn thought about it and talked to Carole about it. In the end, Noah went to Burt and Carole and asked them to adopt him.

The beginning of Thanksgiving week, Noah's and Sarah's adoptions were finalized.

Finn and Rachel didn't return to Lima for Thanksgiving. Hiram and LeRoy flew to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with them.

Kurt and Sebastian spent half of Thanksgiving break at home and half in Lima. They arrived early on Wednesday afternoon and helped prep and make a few desserts.

At Thanksgiving dinner, when each person had to say something they were thankful for, Noah proudly stated that he was thankful to be a Hummel. Sarah told him that he had to think of something else because everyone at the table was thankful to be a Hummel.

The day after Thanksgiving, Jenna drove down from Toledo to spend the day at the Hummel's. The two of them had been dating casually for a couple of months, and Noah had been honest with her about his past, but it was the first time that she met Sarah, Burt and Carole. They all got along really well. Noah took her out for dinner before she drove back to Toledo and he asked her to be his girlfriend and she accepted.

( ) ( ) Winter 2012/2013 ( ) ( )

The Hummels celebrated their first Hanukah the second week in December, which was the same week as final exams.

Kurt and Sebastian mostly relaxed during their first week of winter break, but they did work a couple of extra shifts for people who wanted off and to help make up for the fact that both Christmas and New Year's Day fell on Tuesdays, causing them to miss out on two day's pay.

Finn flew back as soon as Rachel's finals and the Winter Showcase were over. He stayed at the Hummel's rather than going to the Berry's. He went back to counseling the first week he was in town.

Kurt and Sebastian spent the 21st through the 26th in Lima. Finn told everyone about how Rachel complained about some of her classes at NYADA. Kurt figured that from the things Finn was saying that she brought a lot of the criticism on herself by continuing to believe that it was the professors' faults that she wasn't doing well based on the things he said. She had never learned to work hard and she was finally being forced to, but it was an uphill battle. He told Kurt that she had won the Winter Showcase and how everyone flocked to her afterwards. He said he could practically see her slipping back into diva mode.

Blaine's name came up quite a few times in Finn's discussions of his life in New Jersey. He had transferred to a school in New York City for his senior year and was still spending quite a bit of time with Rachel and hanging around with her friends from NYADA. He was determined to get into NYADA from what Finn said.

When Rachel finally arrived back in Lima, Finn learned that she had flown back with Blaine and that she had invited him to spend part of break at the Berry's since his aunt and uncle were out of town.

Despite Finn being down about practically everything that had gone on in New Jersey, he was surprisingly cheerful about Christmas. Noah and Sarah celebrated their first Christmas and enjoyed the traditions without the religious overtones since the Hummels weren't a religious family.

Finn continued to see the counselor on his own over winter break. By New Year's he had decided not to go back to New Jersey with Rachel after winter break. After she left, he went and brought back everything he had left at the Berry's. He had her ship his stuff in New Jersey back to Lima.

He went back to working at the shop about 10 hours a week and paid the Berrys what he had agreed to each month and lived at home. He enrolled full-time at Lima Community College to take the courses he would need to get started as a secondary education major.

The weekend after classes started, he drove down to Kurt and Sebastian's on Saturday morning and had a long heart to heart with Kurt. He sincerely apologized for his behavior. He apologized to Sebastian as well after he finished talking to Kurt.

He took them out to lunch afterwards. His standoffishness about them being a couple was no longer there. He didn't seem the least bit embarrassed to be seen with them. He was much happier than Kurt had ever seen him – he had finally figured out what he wanted to do.

Kurt was thrilled with his first introduction to stagecraft course. He loved working on the scenery and learning how to do the more technical aspects of stage production. He continued with ballet and jazz. Kurt had completely fallen in love with the program.

Sebastian's classes were mostly math based, which suited him, but Kurt could tell that he missed performing, so the third weekend in January he found a place for all of them to go for karaoke, which they all enjoyed. Finn, Noah, Nick, Jeff, Santana, and Brittany came to town and went with Kurt, Sebastian, Matt, Sam, Jenna, and Kylie. After that everyone got together on a weekend once a month.

And Kurt was right. Finn and Kylie hit it off. Finn wasn't ready to date. Technically he was still married, although he was almost divorced. They started texting each other and became friends.

Kurt and Sebastian decided that they were tired of waiting for Ohio to allow same-sex marriage. They began planning a simple wedding.

They still visited Lima some weekends and Noah brought Sarah when he came to visit sometimes. Sam picked Stacey up and brought her to the house so they could play together a couple of times.

Rachel and Finn's divorce was finalized February 1st, almost 11 months after they had gotten married.

Finn called Kurt and talked to him about wanting Burt to be his dad as well. He went to his mom and they had a long talk. The next week, Finn filed the adoption paperwork.

( ) ( ) Spring 2013 ( ) ( )

Over spring break, Kurt and Sebastian got married in DC. Kurt and Sebastian flew from Cincinnati a few days in advance. Burt and Carole were already there. Their group of friends met in Columbus and rented a 15-passenger van to make the 6½-hour drive together for the Wednesday afternoon wedding.

Since they only had 14 people attending their wedding, they didn't have a traditional wedding ceremony with a processional and attendants. They asked Burt, Sam, Matt, Noah, Finn, Nick, and Jeff to dress in black pants, white shirts, and a black/white tie of their own choosing – vests or suit coats were optional. They asked Santana, Brittany, Carole, Kylie, Jenna, Sarah, and Stacey to wear black/white dresses of their own choice with black shoes. Kurt and Sebastian both wore black tuxes with different jackets, different black and white patterned vests and ties, with black and white ballroom dancing shoes.

They rented a private room in a restaurant to have the ceremony. They decorated with a simple black wood arch with white flowers at the end. Fourteen chairs were placed in a semi-circle in front of the arch.

Everyone lined up in a double-file row outside the room with Burt and Carole at the front and Stacey and Sarah right before Sebastian and Kurt at the end of the line. Jenna played her oboe and Kylie played her violin a the group filed in and walked to the middle of the chairs, split and walked behind the chairs around the ends and then in front of the chairs.

Kurt and Sebastian waited until everyone sat down, and then walked behind the chairs. They approached each other from the opposite sides of the semi-circle and stood at the edge until the music stopped. Kylie and Jenna sat down. Kurt and Sebastian moved to the center and remained facing each other for the ceremony.

Once they had said their vows and the ceremony was over, the chairs were moved and the area became a dance floor. Everyone stood and watched the two of them dance a most beautiful Tango.

When they had finished dancing, everyone else joined them. The music switched to fun dance songs alternating between faster and slower pieces. Everyone danced while the staff set a long table with black and white linens.

For the final song, the two of them sang "Crazy Love" to each other, altering the song's lyrics to fit the duet arrangement. They alternated singing the verses and sang each chorus together.

They chose to serve a small mid-afternoon meal, followed by the cake. They chose to split a chocolate lava cake for two and serve two other cakes – a layered strawberry shortcake with whipped cream and a layered carrot spice cake with cream cheese frosting. The three cakes were Sebastian's favorites amongst the many treats Kurt had made him in their time together. They split a slice of each, as well as feeding the lava cake to each other.

Carole and Burt returned to Cincinnati Thursday evening with the two girls. Mary picked Sarah up and she spent the next two days with the Evans family. Burt and Carole stayed at Kurt and Sebastian's house, which allowed Carole to start prepping food for the reception.

The rest of the group stayed at the Hummel's apartment in DC until Saturday afternoon. They went sightseeing together on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Everyone except Kurt and Sebastian headed back to Columbus Saturday afternoon. A few of them headed to Cincinnati to help set up the reception on Sunday afternoon. Kurt and Sebastian flew back to Cincinnati Sunday morning.

The reception was set up as an open house for the entire afternoon. The Evans family came. The Berrys came, but not Rachel. She had stayed in New York for spring break. Some of the guys from Burt's shop came, and a couple of the guys from Mercatolli's came as well. The rest of the guests that came were a mix of their friends from UC and the Warblers.

Trevor came to the reception. He had been invited to DC with everyone, but the production he was in had evening rehearsals and performances that week and he couldn't get away.

Tina sent a card. She had hoped to visit Kurt in Cincinnati starting the previous summer, but her parents refused to allow her to drive the distance alone.

When the Warblers made it to Regionals, Kurt and Sebastian met up with Nick and Jeff to watch them perform in Columbus. Trent was singing lead. They met up with the group afterwards and congratulated them on their win. Trent told him about a new student who had been admitted to the Warblers, but was kicked out and then summarily expelled for attempting to get the less fit members to take steroids. He thanked Kurt for supporting him and suggesting that he audition for lead Warbler.

Kurt enjoyed working on the sets for the spring play as part of his requirements.

A few weeks later in mid-April, Kurt found out that Rachel had been cast as Fanny in a revival of _Funny Girl _on Broadway. It was hard for him to be happy for her. She had started to change, but with what Finn had told him he had seen after she had won the Winter Showcase, Kurt figured the progress that she had made would be completely undone because she had made it to the top so young. He knew she didn't have the background she needed. NYADA didn't allow freshmen to have roles in their productions, so the only experience she had was what she had done at McKinley. He hoped for the production's sake that the personal changes she had been working toward would not slip away.

A couple of weeks later, the spring semester ended. Sam was thrilled that all of his core non-art courses were finished and that he'd get to focus on what he loved the next year. They had all not only survived their first year in college, but they had done well. All three of them were on the dean's list.

They threw a party for Matt for finishing his Master's program. At the party, he announced that had accepted an offer as a T.A. in the Musical Theatre department and planned to start his Ph.D. in the fall.

( ) ( ) Summer 2013 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian considered the option of doing what they had done the summer before, but they didn't want to spend half of their nights sleeping on the sleeper sofa in the family room in Lima all summer. So, they found another shop that was looking for summer help and got part-time positions there. They filled in for people who wanted time off both places as well. So, between the two places, they worked enough hours to make the money they needed for the next school year.

Matt's roommate had also graduated and moved out. Sam moved into Matt's apartment. They got a queen bed and Sam bought a desk. They moved Matt's desk out of their bedroom and turned the second bedroom into a study.

Kylie moved in with Trevor for the summer, sleeping on his sofa. Over the summer, Finn and Kylie started to date casually. Jenna went back to Toledo for the summer. She and Noah continued to date.

They all spent time together along with some of their other friends throughout the summer. Nick and Jeff came and spent a couple of long weekends as well. Kurt and Sebastian spent a few weekends in Lima. When Finn came to spend time with Kylie, he brought Sarah a few times so she could spend the weekend with Kurt, Sebastian, Sam, and Stacey.

Finn applied to transfer to UC and doubled-down on his coursework at LCC. He took a full semester of courses over the summer and UC admitted him for the fall semester. Although he was a transfer student and could live off campus, he opted move on campus into a dorm at Carole and Sam's urging. They both told him to get used to the workload of a large university before he took on the added responsibility of living on his own.

Kurt and Sebastian had a revolving group of people visiting and spending the weekends with them all summer.

With Kurt and Sebastian in Cincinnati full time, and Finn headed for a dorm, Burt, Carole, and Noah sat down and had a talk about the future. They began to look for a new place that fit their current life circumstances better.

( ) ( ) Fall 2013 ( ) ( )

By the fall, they had found a smaller 3-bedroom ranch over a basement, with a small office off the master bedroom, and an unfinished bonus room over the garage that Sarah could move into when she got older. The lower level had been converted into a separate 1-bedroom apartment, with an interior connecting door from when it had been the basement.

This layout allowed him to live on his own without leaving Sarah behind. Since it also had an exterior entrance, Noah had the privacy to come and go on his own and have people over without disturbing the rest of the family, while still allowing Sarah to be with him whenever she wanted. He insisted on paying rent for the apartment, despite Burt's initial refusal. Burt put the money away to cover the cost of finishing out the bonus room when Sarah got older.

Kurt auditioned for the fall musical and got a small main cast part with spoken lines. He was thrilled. Sebastian's classes increased in difficulty, but he wasn't taking an extra course, so it evened out.

The karaoke tradition continued through the next school year. Finn and Kylie's relationship moved from casual to serious mid-fall. Noah and Jenna continued to date. Kylie and Jenna continued to live on campus together. Sam and Matt continued to live in the apartment together.

Finn struggled his first semester at UC, but Sam showed him where to get help and free tutoring, and he pulled his grades up after mid-term and started doing much better.

( ) ( ) Winter 2013/2014 ( ) ( )

For their holiday celebrations, they came to a consensus of everyone spending New Year's Eve and New Year's morning at the Hummel's. Kurt and Sebastian wanted to spend their first Christmas Eve and Christmas morning as a married couple at home. They went to Lima early Christmas afternoon. They stayed through New Year's Day.

Kurt and Sebastian slept on the air mattress in the unfinished bonus room because they preferred the privacy.

Matt, Sam, Stacey, Kylie, and Jenna arrived early in the afternoon on New Year's Eve. Jenna stayed with Noah in his room. Matt and Sam took the sofa bed in Noah's living room. Kylie stayed with Finn in his room. Stacey stayed in Sarah's room with her.

They exchanged their gifts after a nice dinner that evening. Sarah and Stacey exchanged gifts with each other. The others had drawn names ahead of time.

The ten of them pitched in and got Burt and Carole tickets to a dinner show, a hotel room, and tickets to an antique car show in Toledo in January since the previous acts-of-service gifts no longer worked well when none of them, except Noah, lived with Burt and Carole.

After they exchanged gifts, they split into groups and played board games until it was time to watch the ball drop on TV.

( ) ( ) Spring 2014 ( ) ( )

Kurt continued to work on his design and sewing skills and his talent was noticed by a faculty member. She asked him to help with costuming their spring production and he took her up on the offer.

That spring, after a health scare that turned out to be a false positive, Burt reconsidered his options and opted not to run for Congress for a second term.

Noah finished his HVAC certification and found a good job within a month. He proposed to Jenna and she accepted with the provision that they not get married until she had finished college.

( ) ( ) Summer 2014 ( ) ( )

Noah started working on an Associate's Degree in business that summer at Lima Community College.

In July, Nick and Jeff and their immediate families drove two hours from Cleveland into western New York and they got married by a judge in the county courthouse. They had a celebratory dinner in a private room in a restaurant in Columbus for their friends and extended families the next day. They took a one-week honeymoon in the Smoky Mountains and stayed in a cabin.

Kurt and Sebastian worked their regular hours in the shop, and took on part-time positions at another shop like they had done the previous summer. They took a one-week vacation to the Gulf side of Florida and camped in the Navigator like they had planned to do during their senior year.

Matt, Sam, and Kylie found a program that offered music, art, dance, and theatre for kids and they all got full-time jobs working at the camp for the summer. Jenna spent the summer in Toledo again.

Sarah spent two weeks at the Evans' house, during which Burt and Carole took a vacation. Stacey spent the next two weeks at the Hummel's and Stevie went to Tennessee to stay with relatives while the Evans' family moved into a nicer home that they had been able to buy. They had been saving for a year after Dwight had gotten the new job the previous summer. Stevie and Stacey were getting their own rooms again. Dwight, Mary, Sam, and Matt worked to make a few repairs, repaint the interior of the house, and get their furniture moved before the kids returned.

( ) ( ) Fall 2014 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian both continued to do well in their classes. Kurt got a lead role in the fall musical.

Sebastian took web design as an elective, which gave him something completely different to do. He ended up creating a website for both Mercatolli's and for Hummel Tires and Lube as part of his coursework.

Their weekends still consisted of alternating between visiting Lima once a month and having people visit them. Brittany, Santana, Jeff, and Nick still came once a month. Noah was down every weekend and still brought Sarah to see them at least once a month. Sometimes Sam went to Kentucky to bring Stacey to the house for the afternoon or sometimes a sleepover.

( ) ( ) Winter 2014/2015 ( ) ( )

They continued with the New Year's Eve large family gathering, drawing names and exchanging gifts, and playing games like they had the previous years. Kurt and Sebastian came early on Christmas afternoon and stayed through New Year's Day just like they had done the year before.

( ) ( ) Spring 2015 ( ) ( )

Trevor finished his Ph.D. He took a position teaching at Indiana University in the Musicology department. Everyone was really excited for him because he was so excited about the position he had gotten, but it was bittersweet because they were all going to miss him.

Sebastian finished his Batchelor's degree in finance was offered a full scholarship to UC to complete his Master's work.

They had a joint graduation party for them and Kurt and Sebastian's.

Kylie and Jenna moved into Trevor's apartment right after graduation when he headed off to Bloomington to get settled in.

( ) ( ) Summer 2015 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian got back on at the second shop they had worked at before and continued to work at Mercatolli's as well. The week after finals, before they started their second jobs, they planned a stay-cation for themselves going to small unusual places around Cincinnati that they had never visited.

They held their annual 4th of July party, which morphed into a giant sleepover party. Santana and Brittany, Matt and Sam, and Nick and Jeff stayed in the house and Finn, Kylie, Noah, and Jenna camped in the back yard. The next morning everyone stayed for a huge brunch since it was a Sunday and no one had to be anywhere. They went swimming at Eden Park afterwards.

( ) ( ) Fall 2015 ( ) ( )

Sebastian started his Master's program the fall of Kurt's senior year. Kurt continued to be cast in productions in the department, and his senior year, he won the lead in _West Side Story_.

He did a fabulous job playing Tony and felt properly vindicated for the fiasco that was his senior year in high school. Somehow word got out to Miss Pillsbury and Coach Beiste, who came to watch the show and congratulated Kurt on how well he had performed.

( ) ( ) Winter 2015/2016 ( ) ( )

For the third year in a row, Kurt and Sebastian headed to Lima on Christmas afternoon. Matt, Sam, Stacey, Jenna, and Kylie arrived New Year's Eve afternoon. They had a big dinner, exchanged gifts, played games all evening, and watched the ball drop in Times Square.

They made a huge brunch buffet the next morning and watched a few movies that afternoon. Santana and Brittany joined them on New Year's Day.

( ) ( ) Spring 2016 ( ) ( )

Kurt was the lead student costume designer for their spring production. The job required a lot of attention to detail, which was something that Kurt was quite adept at and he excelled in the position.

Sebastian completed his Master's degree in May. Kurt, Finn, Jenna, and Kylie finished their Batchelor's degrees. Noah finished his Associate's degree. Since they had a lot of friends in common, they opted to have a joint graduation party the Sunday after graduation at Kurt and Sebastian's house. Sam's BFA program was a 5-year program, so he didn't graduate with them.

( ) ( ) Summer 2016 ( ) ( )

A week after graduation, Kurt, Sebastian, Matt, and Sam headed to Lima for a full week. With the addition of Noah and Finn, the six of them transformed the unfinished bonus room into an awesome finished studio for Sarah who would be starting junior high in the fall. Burt had brought in a plumber, electrician, and drywaller that had completed their work before the guys arrived.

She chose to decorate in magenta, lime green, and black. It was the perfect mix of tough and sweet to match Sarah's personality. They laid a gray-stained laminate floor and painted two of the walls pale magenta and the other two lime green. She chose black and white photos to hang on the walls. She had chosen a comforter for her new queen-sized bed and had chosen coordinating fabrics for the accessories. She helped Kurt design throw pillows and curtains, which he worked on while the others worked on the flooring and painting. Sarah flitted between all of the different projects because she wanted to learn how to do everything.

Sam painted an abstract art mural in her bathroom. The others built shelving along the wall with the double window and Kurt designed her closet space to give her plenty of room for storage. Her dresser and desk were sanding and painted black and they found a headboard at Goodwill and painted it to match as well. At the end of the week, the whole area had been transformed and Sarah loved it.

They also updated the room that had been Sarah's as a second guest room with a fresh coat of pale cornflower paint, and a queen bed with a deep navy comforter with a small geometric pattern, giving all of them room to spend holidays at the house with no one having to sleep on the air mattress anymore.

Matt and Sam headed back to Cincinnati at the end of the week because the camp they were working at started the following Monday. They had disassembled Sarah's trundle bed when they brought her new bed home. Sam took the daybed frame and the mattresses back to Kentucky with him for Stacey to use in her room instead of the lower half of the bunk bed frame she had been using. The trundle would allow them to each have a place to sleep now that they were too big to want to sleep in a twin bed together. They reassembled the bunk bed in Stevie's room with the other mattress for potential overnight guests.

Kurt and Sebastian stayed and helped Noah do a bit of sprucing up on his apartment since the following weekend he and Jenna were getting married and she was moving into the apartment with him when they got back from their honeymoon. She had already accepted a position teaching choral music, band, and orchestra at North Lima for the fall.

The second Friday night that Kurt and Sebastian were in Lima, everyone headed to Toledo for Jenna and Noah's rehearsal dinner. Jenna's mother was Jewish and the ceremony was held in the synagogue Jenna had grown up attending. Kurt, Finn, and Sebastian were Noah's groomsmen. Jenna's sister, cousin, and Sarah were her bridesmaids.

The three things really stood out to Kurt as unique from other weddings he had been to. One was that groom's parents walked down the aisle with the groom first, and then the bride's parents walked her down the aisle. The other was the smashing of the glass after the ceremony. He had heard about it, but never seen it. Also, rather than having photos taken right after the ceremony, Jenna and Noah went off to a side room alone for about 20 minutes before rejoining the group.

Noah took Jenna to Mackinac Island for their honeymoon because she had talked about how she had always wanted to go there.

Over the next couple of months, Kurt sent in résumés to companies in New York City for positions in fashion, stage work, and anything that looked remotely interesting. Sebastian started applying for positions as well.

They held a 4th of July party as they had every summer since they had lived in their house. Everyone announced their plans for the fall at the party.

Brittany and Santana moved to Cincinnati where Brittany had gotten a job at a high school as the cheer coach and alternative PE teacher, meaning that she would be teaching pilates, yoga, tumbling, and aerobics for students who didn't want to take the regular PE courses. Santana was still looking for work in marketing. Brittany and Santana also announced their engagement and their wedding date for August.

Nick had gotten a job at a company in Columbus, and Jeff was still applying for positions. They were going to continue to live in the apartment they'd been living in.

Finn and Kylie both found positions a school just north of Dayton in an area that had seen a lot of growth. The high school had been renovated and had been expanded and needed to hire quite a few additional teachers. Finn took a position as the PE teacher and boys' athletic coach. Kylie was hired to be the orchestra, band, and jazz band teacher, as well as the marching band director. They were engaged as well.

Sebastian landed a position as a financial analyst at a company in Manhattan. Kurt got an internship with .

After attending Santana and Brittany's wedding in Lima in early August, Kurt and Sebastian spent a wonderful three weeks in a flat in Paris as a much belated honeymoon and graduation present to themselves before they moved to New York City.

( ) ( ) Fall 2016 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian wanted to give New York City a chance, but they loved their house and weren't ready to give it up, but they also didn't want to rent their house to strangers, so they rented their house out to Sam and Matt for the year.

Matt was still working on his Ph.D. at UC and working as a T.A. during the school year. Sam spent a lot of time in the studio working on his final projects during his last year of undergraduate work.

Kurt and Sebastian moved into a tiny studio apartment in Midtown so that they wouldn't have to commute. They left the Navigator behind.

They bought a very comfortable futon with drawers underneath to keep their bedding during the daytime and a small table for Kurt to use to sew. There wasn't room for much else in the apartment. Fortunately some previous tenant had built drawers into the lower section of the closet, allowing them to forego a dresser.

The kitchen was a single row that consisted of a refrigerator, a single basin sink, 12 inches of counter space, the stove, and a small section of counter that jutted out creating an L at the corner that could fit two barstools underneath it.

Kurt's internship was just part time, mornings, Monday through Friday, but he also was expected to attend a wide variety of evening events as Isabelle's PA. Sebastian's job was a traditional 8-5 work day.

( ) ( ) Winter 2016/2017 ( ) ( )

Kurt auditioned for roles all fall and eventually got a callback for the lead in a Disney on Broadway version of _Pinocchio_. He eventually won the role.

He hated saying goodbye to Vogue, but his internship was only to the end of December anyway. Isabelle encouraged him to apply for paying positions until he got one. He was thrilled that she thought he was talented enough to get a paid position. She was very supportive of him when she told him that he had gotten the part.

Kurt and Sebastian couldn't make it to Lima on Christmas Day like they had in previous years because Kurt was only off Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. They took a flight out as soon as Sebastian got off from work on the 30th, which was early Friday evening and flew back Sunday afternoon so Kurt could be ready to perform that evening.

They missed spending the week with their parents like they were used to, but they were glad to at least spend a couple of days with everyone that they loved joining in on the traditional New Year's Eve dinner, gift exchange, and game night, as well as the New Year's Day brunch.

Rehearsals for _Pinocchio _started the beginning of January.

( ) ( ) Spring 2017 ( ) ( )

After a few months of rehearsals, _Pinocchio_ opened at the end of March. Every one of their friends made it to New York at some point and came to see Kurt perform.

Unfortunately, Kurt's Broadway schedule made it tough to get to Sam's graduation the first weekend in May. They took a really late flight out after Kurt's Friday evening show.

When they went to breakfast with Matt and Sam Saturday morning before the ceremony, they let Kurt and Sebastian know that they were getting married the first Monday in June in the evening. They had specifically chosen the day so that Kurt and Sebastian could be there since _Pinocchio_ was dark on Monday evenings. They wanted Kurt and Sebastian to be their best men in the wedding.

In addition to announcing their wedding, Sam announced that he had gotten a scholarship to start graduate school at UC in the fall during lunch with their families after the graduation ceremony. Kurt and Sebastian flew back right after the luncheon was over.

( ) ( ) Summer 2017 ( ) ( )

To participate as much as they could in Sam and Matt's wedding, Kurt and Sebastian flew to Cincinnati after the show Sunday night. They helped with everything they could during the day on Monday.

They were surprised that Sam and Matt had found a church willing to perform the ceremony. It was a small church, but it was perfect for the small family and friends wedding they had. The two of them went to Florida for their honeymoon.

Kurt and Sebastian had to return to New York the next morning. It was hard to leave. They missed their group of friends they had grown so accustomed to spending so much time with. And they especially missed Sam and Matt.

They enjoyed getting texted crazy photos of the two of them in Florida during the week they were there.

Kurt was nominated for a Tony award. Everyone watched the ceremony on TV. When Kurt's name was announced, Burt cried. Kurt thanked his family and friends and most especially Sebastian for always being there for him.

( ) ( ) Fall 2017 ( ) ( )

Kurt loved working on Broadway. He loved performing. It was everything he had hoped it would be, but he missed their life in Cincinnati. He missed baking. He missed sitting out on their deck and talking. He missed lying out in their backyard looking up at the stars and talking. He missed their friends.

Sebastian seemed to enjoy what he did, but in New York, they were losing themselves and each other. Sebastian was gone all day and Kurt was gone all evening.

Sebastian actually started taking naps when he came home from work to be able to stay awake longer after Kurt came back from his shows, so that they would at least have some time together. Working all day and sleeping during the early evening left Sebastian no time to make any new friends, even if he had wanted to. Occasionally they went out dancing or to a karaoke place on Friday nights after Kurt's show.

It had been nearly a year of only seeing each other during the mornings on Saturdays, the daytime on Sundays, and on Monday evenings and it was a rare week when all three happened. They missed being 'them'.

Kurt loved the 16 months they spent in New York up to that point. He loved performing on Broadway, but the stress was taking a toll on both of them.

( ) ( ) Winter 2017/2018 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian missed out on Christmas Day at the Hummel's again. They flew out as soon as they could after Kurt's show on the 30th. They spent New Year's Eve the way they had for several years. They flew back New Year's Day in the afternoon so that Kurt would be back for his evening show. It was harder to leave than it had been the year before.

( ) ( ) Spring 2018 ( ) ( )

Kurt loved performing on Broadway. He really did, but he loved Sebastian more. Kurt stepped down from _Pinocchio_ in early March, fulfilling his one-year contract and giving the show time to recast the role. His last show was at the end of March.

Kurt took piece-work jobs making costumes for productions and managed to get a paid position in Isabelle's office as a temporary replacement for someone who had gone to London to work for _Vogue_ for two months. It helped ease the stress, but Kurt still worked evenings frequently doing fittings and adjustments and attending fashion events.

They were still living in 225 sq feet with a view of an alley. Very little sun ever reached the inside of their apartment. They couldn't find much of anything better without doubling their rent or giving themselves a huge commute each day, which would cut into what little time they had to spend together.

In early April, they flew back to Cincinnati for a long weekend. Sebastian interviewed with a couple of companies while they were in town. They were groomsmen in Finn and Kylie's big church wedding in Columbus. The bride and groom spent their spring break, in Toronto with one day trip driving along Lake Ontario to visit Niagara Falls.

Kurt and Sebastian flew back to Cincinnati for a quick visit the weekend that Matt graduated and received his Ph.D. At lunch afterwards, he announced that he had been offered a position as a drama professor at UC starting in the fall.

Kurt and Sebastian went back to New York City and stuck it out until the end of May when Kurt's position at _Vogue_ ended. Kurt and Sebastian found someone to take over their lease on the studio for the summer.

Sebastian had given his 2-week notice. He had already found a new position in Cincinnati. It was a slight pay cut, but their cost of living was going to drop back to about 1/6th of what it was in New York City.

( ) ( ) Summer 2018 ( ) ( )

Matt and Sam moved into a furnished summer sublet when Kurt and Sebastian told them they were coming back. They left their furniture stored in the basement. They started looking for a house to buy.

The first weekend of June, Kurt and Sebastian were back in Cincinnati.

Once they returned to Cincinnati, Kurt started to audition for small roles and he began getting parts right away. He took the roles so he could meet people in the area. He wanted to become a member of the local theater community. He didn't want to be a Tony Award winning actor who was 'slumming it' or to have people think that he considered himself too good to take whatever role he was offered.

Sebastian and Kurt became themselves again. They could lie in bed for sweet gentle kisses in the mornings and relax together reading books in the evenings. They enjoyed the arts more than they had in New York City because when they were there, they never had any time to enjoy much of anything. A trip to an event took a lot of planning. Spontaneity returned to their lives once they were back in their own home. They cooked, they sang, and they danced whenever they felt like it.

( ) ( ) Fall 2018 ( ) ( )

Sarah started high school at McKinley.

Noah's boss wanted to retire. He took out a loan to buy the company from him.

By fall, Kurt started to land main roles in shows. He liked the fact that the performances weren't 6 days a week the way they were on Broadway. The shows often had 3-6 week runs with shows on Thursday through Saturday nights, with a Saturday matinee. He found that he loved performing whether it was on Broadway or in a smaller city. The thrill turned out to be the performance itself, not the location.

Sebastian's job with the new company turned out to be much more enjoyable than the one he had in New York. Since he worked for a much smaller company, his job involved a lot more variety. He got to put his photography and web design skills to work. He got to interact with a lot more people. Professionally it had been a good move for him, and personally, it had made all the difference.

Kurt had made it big. He had made it to the top. He just found out that life at the top of the heap in the Big Apple wasn't nearly as sweet as being at home with Sebastian in Cincinnati.

( ) ( ) Winter 2018/2019 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian had really missed being in Lima the previous two Christmases. Sebastian's new company gave everyone the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off with pay. They spent the whole time in Lima.

It was still hard to believe that Sarah was a freshman in high school. She was a proud Glee Club member. The group had been renamed "Harmony in Motion" after the new music teacher had been hired. Miss Pillsbury and Coach Beiste were still working at the school. The way Sarah talked about McKinley, it didn't sound a thing like the school that Kurt, Sam, Finn, and Noah had attended. Kurt was amazed at the changes.

They continued with their traditional New Year's Eve and New Year's Day get-together, which was just as much fun as it always was. Santana and Brittany joined them on New Year's Day again.

( ) ( ) Spring 2019 ( ) ( )

Kurt continued to perform and do costume work in Cincinnati.

Harmony in Motion made it to Regionals, which were held in Columbus. Burt, Carole, Noah, Jenna, Kurt, Sebastian, Matt, Sam, and Stacey went to watch. They placed second, but they had done a really good job.

In May, Sam completed his Master's program. As his graduation gift, Matt had arranged for him to have a showing of his work for the month of May at a local art gallery. Sam was thrilled when he had sold over half of the pieces he had shown by the end of the month. He had also gotten a couple of commission requests that he started working on.

( ) ( ) Summer 2019 ( ) ( )

Matt and Sam bought the house behind Kurt and Sebastian's when it went up for sale in mid-June. It hadn't been renovated like theirs, but they got it for a really good price. Over the summer, they did most of the work on it themselves besides the wiring and plumbing. They had Noah install a new HVAC system.

One weekend, all the guys helped them fence the back yard and they installed a gate between the backyards. When they were finished with the renovation, the house was stunning with the mural Sam had painted in their foyer and all of the artwork that hung on the walls and was displayed around the house.

( ) ( ) Fall 2019 ( ) ( )

In early September, the house to the east of Kurt and Sebastian's finally went up for sale and Brittany and Santana bought it. Everyone joined in helping them get it renovated quickly over several weekends. A month later, they were able to move in. They put a double-wide gate in between Kurt and Sebastian's back yard and Brittany and Santana's that was even with the back edge of their houses.

Babies were the hot topic of discussion that fall. Brittany, Santana, Kylie, and Jenna were all pregnant. A student of Kylie's was also pregnant and she wanted to put the baby up for a closed adoption. Matt and Sam jumped at the potential and everything was set up.

( ) ( ) Winter 2018/2019 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian spent Christmas Day with their parents and Sarah. Noah and Jenna had gone to her dad's parents for Christmas Day. They returned and everyone else arrived on New Year's Eve, as usual. Santana and Brittany were new additions to the New Year's Eve event. This year the conversations revolved around getting ready for the arrival of the babies.

Matt and Sam were having a boy, who was due in February. Santana and Brittany were both having girls and were due in March. Jenna and Noah were having a boy, who was due in March as well. Kylie and Finn's daughter was due in early April.

( ) ( ) Spring 2019 ( ) ( )

Spring brought with it the arrival of all of the little ones.

Jayce Michael Shiffley-Evans was born on February 18th in Dayton. Sam and Matt stayed with him the whole time he was in the hospital and brought him home two days later.

Ciara Hummel Lopez-Pierce and Liana Hummel Lopez-Pierce were born a few hours apart on March 5th. Kurt and Sebastian were there for their births in Cincinnati.

Aaron Josiah Hummel was born on March 22nd in Lima.

Brielle Penelope Hummel was born on April 8th in Dayton.

( ) ( ) Spring 2022 ( ) ( )

Three years later, in mid-April, Kurt received an invitation to his 10-year class reunion. He debated about going, but it was the Saturday evening of Sarah's graduation and they were going to be in Lima anyway, so he replied 'yes' with a plus one.

A week later, they got a Warbler reunion invitation addressed to both of them for the same weekend, but for Friday during the day and a 10-year class reunion for Sebastian from Dalton for Friday evening. They RSVP'd to both.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

At the end of May, Kurt and Sebastian drove to Westerville for the celebration of Fifty Years of Warblers. There were a few original Warblers in their late 60's all the way down to the 15-year-old youngest member of the current group. Kurt and Sebastian spent time talking to people they hadn't seen in a long time. Kurt introduced Sebastian to Wes, whose legendary gavel stories Sebastian had heard.

They spent quite a bit of the afternoon singing, which was a lot of fun. Someone had compiled performance pieces and printed them out for the group to sing together. The older Warblers were shocked by how intricate the arrangements had gotten over the last fifteen years when the group moved from being a large barbershop quartet-style stool choir to a show choir powerhouse rocking popular music using their voices as the instruments. The current Warblers performed at the end of the afternoon to a very appreciative audience.

They had successfully avoided Blaine the entire afternoon until the Warblers were starting to head out. He approached them and led them toward the gardens. He told him about his senior year in New York City. He moved into the dorm in the same building with Rachel for his first year at NYADA, which didn't go as he had hoped it would since Rachel dropped out in early December of his freshman year after the two of them had performed a duet when Madame Tibideaux had assigned a solo and Rachel clamed that she couldn't handle NYADA not understanding her inability to reschedule due to _Funny Girl_ rehearsals.

He had let his mutual admiration club of two take over his life. He was left without friends because his friends were Rachel's friends and when she left, her sycophants went looking for the next shiny object, which wasn't him.

He finally sought counseling. He stuck it out through the spring semester, but by the end of the semester, he realized that NYADA wasn't what he wanted. Rachel only lasted through a few months of _Funny Girl_ before she quit. She left for L.A. and he was alone in New York City.

After he told her that he had quit NYADA, she tried to convince him to come to L.A. He told of his struggle to break away from Rachel after attempting to actually deal with his own life. Instead of going to L.A., he went back to his aunt and uncle's for the summer. He found a counselor and started going again. He finally found a counselor who helped him with his problems in Columbus.

The following spring he went back to college and studied music at Ohio State University. He gave up his perfect prep school boy '50s shtick and dumped the primary-colored wardrobe, bowties, and hair gel. He wore his hair natural and wore what he referred to as 'normal' clothes.

He had started a band and had been working at a music studio in Columbus as a sound tech and a for-hire musician during recording sessions for the past five years – since he had graduated. He told them he had learned that even as an adult, he was a jackass when he was drunk and had given up drinking altogether because of it.

He thanked Kurt for trying to intervene when they were in high school. He actually apologized for what he had done at Scandals, congratulated Kurt on his Tony, and walked away less than ten minutes after he had approached them.

They were stunned silent. They walked around the gardens hand in hand for a little while before they headed back inside the building for the 10-year class reunion dinner.

Nick and Jeff were there along with several other people that had been there all afternoon. They all enjoyed talking to each other. Nick and Jeff still spent time in Cincinnati when they could and Kurt and Sebastian visited them in Columbus from time to time as well. They enjoyed the dance after the dinner. It reminded them both of their Senior Prom.

They attended Sarah's graduation ceremony the next morning. The school only issued four tickets per graduate, but Sarah had finagled her way into acquiring extra tickets so that her whole family could attend the ceremony.

Santana, Brittany, Ciara, and Liana along with Sam, Matt and Jayce stayed with Aaron and Brielle at the Hummel's during the graduation ceremony.

At her graduation luncheon after the ceremony, Sarah announced that she had chosen to study business like Noah and go to UC because if it was good enough for five of her brothers and her two sisters, it was good enough for her. And not surprisingly, she announced that she would be rooming with Stacey who had also chosen to attend UC. She also showed off her ASE test results. She had passed everything for the car Master Technician Certification.

Noah showed off the bank note that showed that he had paid off the loan he had taken out to buy the heating and cooling company.

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

Later that afternoon, Finn, Kylie, and Brielle, Sam, Matt, and Jayce, Noah, Jenna, and Aaron, Kurt, Sebastian, Brittany, Santana, Ciara, and Liana headed up to the school. Rachel had arranged for the Glee Club to use the choir room before the reunion for their own mini-reunion.

They all headed straight to the choir room. The only people in the room were Rachel and Mercedes.

Rachel had printed out some fact sheets about the people who weren't in attendance.

Kurt was carrying Liana. He took Sebastian's hand and interlaced their fingers and walked around the piano to look at the fact sheets.

Quinn graduated from Yale with a degree in theatre arts and had landed various small roles on TV shows over the years. Mike finished his dance degree and was working as a choreographer in L.A. Surprisingly the two of them lived together, along with a couple of other people. No significant other was mentioned for either of them.

Artie graduated from film school in Brooklyn and worked in Canada as a director. Tina graduated from Brown and went on to graduate school. She lived with Artie in Canada and worked on a costume design and special effects make-up crew for movies.

Other than Artie and Tina, Rachel didn't put out info for anyone that hadn't graduated with them in 2012.

After everyone in the room looked at the fact sheets, they started talking to each other, or more accurately, they each gave a brief speech about what they had done or were currently doing.

The kids were wandering around the room.

Rachel talked about her run as Fanny in _Funny Girl_ and her subsequent move to L.A. and the small roles she had gotten on TV shows. She was dating and living with Jesse St. James with whom she had reconnected when they ran into each other at an audition. He had a steady part on a long-running sitcom.

Mercedes talked about how she had put out an EP and continued to work as a back up singer, but she was still working toward her goal of a full-length CD of her own. She wasn't seeing anyone.

Noah surprised Rachel and Mercedes when he told about how he was the owner of Ace Heating and Cooling, Lima's most reliable heating and cooling repair service. He introduced Jenna as his wife of six years pointed out their dark curly haired 3-year-old, Aaron, who was playing with his cousins. Jenna told everyone that she was the music teacher at Lima North.

Santana told everyone about her position in marketing and Brittany talked about her cheer squad's successes. They had also been married for six years. They pointed to Ciara and Liana, indicating that Ciara had dark brown hair and green eyes, while Liana had medium brown hair and blue eyes.

Finn introduced Kylie, saying that they had been together for eight years and married for four. He talked about both of them graduating from UC and his position as a high school PE teacher and coach and hers as the music teacher and band director at the same high school in Dayton. Kylie pointed to Brielle, who had a light brown bob and was chasing Aaron at that point.

Sam went next and told about getting his Master's degree in art and his shows in galleries around the country and about how a few of his pieces were in museum exhibits. And he introduced Matt as his husband who was a drama professor in the Musical Theatre department at UC and their 3-year-old son, Jayce, who had sandy blond hair and hazel eyes.

Kurt went last. He told them that he and Sebastian had been happily married for nine years and that Sebastian was a financial analyst. He talked about their nearly two years in New York and their return to Cincinnati and his work in local theater as an actor and costume designer. Sebastian pointed out that he hadn't mentioned his Tony Award.

Sam and Matt excused themselves to take Jayce to the bathroom. Mercedes immediately quietly demanded to know when Sam had turned gay. Kurt had to suppress an eye roll and said that he had come out as bi after graduation and that he and Matt had been together for nearly ten years and married for five years. Rachel didn't do a very good job of hiding her surprise. Mercedes just shook her head.

After a few minutes of total silence, Kurt and Sebastian said their goodbyes and started to leave the room. Liana and Ciara heard them and ran up to them with their arms up asking to be picked up and saying they wanted to leave with them. Kurt and Sebastian picked them up and Santana and Brittany nodded and the four of them left.

Kurt and Sebastian fastened Liana and Ciara into their car seats in the backseat texted Sam and Matt that they were ready to go. Matt and Sam came out to the parking lot and climbed into the third row seats and Kurt fastened Jayce into his car seat next to Liana. Kurt climbed in the driver's seat and headed to the Hummel's.

Mercedes turned to Santana asking why the girls had left with Kurt and Sebastian. Santana said that they spend half their time with them. She tried to explain that it wasn't all that different from kids who have stepmother and father and a mother and stepfather, except that they all got along and spent time together as well. Mercedes just shook her head.

Noah brought Aaron and Brielle back to the house and went back to the actual reunion. Matt and Sam went out to dinner alone. Sarah went out to dinner with her friends. The five toddlers had dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Kurt, and Sebastian. They put the five of them down to sleep at 8:00. Burt, Carole, Kurt, and Sebastian enjoyed talking to each other until the others came back.

After everyone else came back, they all piled into the living room and watched a movie. They let Sarah choose the movie. She picked a movie that had come out before she was born that she absolutely loved – _Legally Blonde._

Santana and Brittany headed back to Cincinnati instead of watching the movie. Kurt and Sebastian spent the night at Burt and Carole's and took Ciara and Liana back with them the next day and kept them the rest of the weekend, as they often did. Everyone else headed home after the movie.

( ) ( ) Spring 2026 ( ) ( )

At Sarah's college graduation luncheon, she announced that she was engaged. She met John at a wine tasting her friends took her to on her 21st birthday during her junior year.

John had just finished culinary arts schools with degrees in culinary and pastry arts, as well as hospitality management. He had gotten a job at a 5-star restaurant in Cincinnati, and was hoping to work his way up to owning his own restaurant some day. They were married later that summer. Sarah found a man to cook and eat with her just like she had said.

( ) ( ) Spring 2028 ( ) ( )

Two years later, Burt turned 60 and Breadstix went up for sale. Sarah and John moved to Lima and moved into the one bedroom apartment in the lower level of the Hummel house. Sarah took over running Hummel Tires and Lube and they bought the restaurant, renamed it "Pastalicious" and turned it into a place that actually served delicious Italian-inspired American food.

( ) ( ) Spring 2033 ( ) ( )

Kurt and Sebastian had followed Sebastian's financial plan for their lives. For the first two years they returned to Cincinnati, they lived on Kurt's income alone and had used Sebastian's income to pay the house off. They stayed in their house and lived modestly. The only additions to the interior they had made over the years was more shelving, an ottoman, and another futon and two matching covers so that they would have more seating and more space for people to stay with them. They bought two swings for the deck, a grill for the patio for the outside, and a built a second picnic table.

On their 20th anniversary, Sebastian quit his position and took a part-time position working just two days a week. Kurt dropped to working part-time as a mechanic and taking the occasional costuming work.

Through Sebastian's investment skills, they had saved up a million dollars. They both switched their focus to writing. Sebastian began to write children's books based on the stories in his journals and his own life and Kurt's. Kurt began writing musicals with characters like him in them, just like Burt told him that he should do all those years ago. He had the training and the experience to finally make the suggestion a reality. Sam illustrated Sebastian's books. Matt was Kurt's sounding board for the dialogue in the musical.

( ) ( ) Spring 2037( ) ( )

Kurt's musical, _Fabulous!_, had been performed at UC the previous fall, and then was picked up and performed by a professional company in Columbus where it was seen by an investor willing to open on Broadway.

At the end of May, Jayce, Brielle, Ciara, Liana, and Aaron all graduated from high school. Memorial Day weekend, they had a big family graduation party at Grandma and Grandpa's in Lima and they all stayed the whole weekend.

Kurt, Sebastian, Brittany, and Santana took Ciara and Liana to Europe for two weeks in June. Both girls had grown up speaking Spanish, French, and English. During their trip, they both decided they wanted to do a junior year abroad while they were in college.

( ) ( ) Spring 2038( ) ( )

The year of their 25th anniversary, _Fabulous!_ opened on Broadway and Sebastian's three books all made it onto the NY Times Best Sellers' List.

Kurt had made it big in the theater world a second time, but his heart still belonged to Sebastian and their life in Cincinnati. They did limited book tours for Sebastian's books.

They spent two weeks in New York City after the Broadway opening. This time they focused on actually enjoying themselves as tourists, seeing many of the sights they had never had the time to go to when they lived there.

Afterwards, they spent a fantastic month in France, traveling around to the different parts of France that they had always wanted to visit, but had never been able to. They spent the final few days of their celebration back in Paris.

( ) ( ) ( ) (p) (d) ( ) ( ) ( )

"Where are we going?"

Sebastian held tight to Kurt's fingers interlaced in his. "This way."

Once they had made it all the way around the cathedral, Sebastian led them toward the end of the Île de la cité into the park area, where they could see the Seine and they could sit like they had when they were 18.

Sebastian sat really close to Kurt and wrapped his arm behind him and held Kurt close. Kurt looked over at him smiling, amused at his repeat antics. Sebastian used the free hand he had to turn Kurt toward him just a bit more and leaned forward to kiss him.

Kurt just smiled. "I love you. I believe we've been here and done this exact thing before. Are you still trying to make sure no one gets the idea that I'm available or something? We've been married 25 years."

"Nope, not at all. I'm showing off."

"After 25 years?"

"Yes, of course," he said with a smug gleam.

Kurt just shook his head and laughed.

"Oh, no. This is no laughing matter." He kissed Kurt again. "I am showing off my absolutely gorgeous, amazing husband whom I have loved for 26 years."

"You're crazy."

"Pot calling the kettle black."

Kurt just shook his head and laughed again.

"These years with you have been everything I ever wanted. Dance with me?"

"Always." Kurt stood and reached out for him.

Sebastian put his arms around Kurt and started to slow dance with him. He started singing, not loud, but loud enough for Kurt to hear him clearly, just like he had the first time they had danced in that exact spot.

…

_And you play it coy,_

_But it's kinda cute._

_Oh when you smile at me,_

_You know exactly what you do._

_Baby don't pretend_

_That you don't know it's true_

'_Cause you can see it when I look at you._

…

_And I can't believe that I'm your man._

_And I get to kiss you baby just because I can._

_Whatever comes our way,_

_We'll see it through._

_And you know that's what our love can do._

…

_And in this crazy life,_

_And through these crazy times,_

_It's you, it's you._

_You make me sing._

_You're very line._

_You're every word._

_You're everything._

_You're every song._

_And I sing along._

'_Cause you're my everything._

When he finished singing, he just held Kurt tight and hugged him. "I mean that. You're everything I ever wanted. Having you to love and to spend my life with is all I ever wanted. My life with you has been more than I ever dreamed of. It's been an amazing 25 years of marriage. Our beautiful girls are all grown up. We have an amazing family and friends. There's no one else I would have wanted to spend my life with. I love you so much."

Kurt pulled back just enough to kiss Sebastian, who happily kissed him back. He held Sebastian close. "We do have an amazing life together. I hope we have at least another 25 years. I love you too, Sebastian – so very much."


End file.
